How Will I Get Over You?
by demoNiko
Summary: Sasuke finally came back. But his life is on the line? He keeps it a secret from the others... How will Sakura deal with this kind of thing when she and Sasuke are starting to get along? WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH... SasukexSakura / NarutoxSakura... ENJOY!
1. What Sweets Taste Like

How Will I Get Over You?

CHAPTER ONE - What Sweets Taste Like

Sasuke Uchiha has returned to the village a few months ago. What made him come back? The defeat of his older sibling. Yes, he has finally defeated Uchiha Itachi. With that, he has felt satisfied and decided to live a normal life back in his hometown. Though Sakura was sure she was over her obsession with the Uchiha, when she saw him come back, she felt something rise up within her. Happiness and completion. Seeing him to be able to smile was enough to complete her. But why? It looked like she had to find out the hard way...

'Tuesday today... Sasuke might be in the hospital for his monthly check-up.' the young kunoichi had thought to herself. She released the calendar from her hands and got up from her bed. She dressed up and went out of her apartment.

On the way to the hospital, she bumped into Hinata and Kiba along the way.

"Sakura-san!"

"Kiba. Hinata. Ohayo."

"Sakura, where are you going? The hospital's closed today."

"Closed?" she looked at the dog-lover.

"Y-yes." Hinata stammered. "Due to Sasuke-kun's visit, they had it closed. A lot of reporters have been snooping around his apartment lately and Godaime-sama had even ordered ANBU to protect him."

"Anbu??!"

"Yeah. But I'm sure that the hospital will let you in. Tsunade-sama is inside and if I were you I'd hurry."

"Are they still not over it yet?!"

Sakura just smiled at the couple and ran off to the hospital. When she got there, the gates were closed so she gathered chakra to her feet and jumped over. She ran inside the halls to look for her master. And when she bumped into her...

"Tsunade-sama!"

"Sakura! What are you doing here? The hospital is closed."

"How's Sasuke?" she said while panting.

"Sakura, we went over this last week. No matter how many check ups we need, he's fine. We just need to make sure he stays that way."

She put her hand on the pink haired kunoichi and gave out a big, heavy sigh.

"Well, he's in room 82 in case you want to see him."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

The Sannin just nodded at her and walked towards the exit of the hospital while Sakura, once the Hokage had been out of her sight, started running to room 82. Upon reaching the wooden door with the big number '82' carved in the middle, she opened the door and squeezed her head inside to peek. She saw a dark blue haired boy sitting on the edge of his bed, looking outside his window.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura had entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"S-Sakura?" he stood up straight and fixed his shirt. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just... Checking up on you, as usual. Haven't you gotten used to it?"

"N-No."

"Are you feeling okay, Sasuke-kun?"

Well, it was the first time he stammered around her. What did she expect? She put her palm on his forehead to check his temperature but he faced away so Sakura wouldn't be able to be in contact with his forehead.

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? We could go and take you out for a walk or maybe you'd rather stay here and be alone as usual, which ever's your pick."

He fixed his feet in his sandals and headed for the door. Sakura only had realized he had left when Sasuke was already in the hallway. She ran out of the room and walked fast so she could catch up with the Uchiha.

"Sasuke, where are you going?"

"Outside. We're going for a walk."

'We...' the word echoed inside of Sakura. Come to think of it, it's been a while since he used that term. Honestly, she didn't even think he used that word since their first training with Kakashi when they were still Genins. They've reached town and walked the streets, passing by civilians and other shinobis. They even passed by some of the Jonins like Kurenai, Gai and Genma.

A few minutes later, Sasuke felt something familiar in his stomach.

"I'm hungry. Let's go."

"Where?"

Sasuke ignored her question and started running, leaving the medic he was with. Sakura ran after him and tried to catch up but then, he stopped in front of a certain store.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura had finally caught up with him. She put her hand on his shoulder and tried catching her breath. She was breathing harshly. Looking up, she tried reading the sign beside them.

'Chocolate Emporium?' she thought to herself.

"Sasuke-kun, you don't like sweets."

The shinobi she was holding onto looked at her with a smirk on his face. He walked inside the store leaving Sakura outside, trying to catch her breath. With her hands on her knees, she panted. Sasuke peeked outside once more.

"Are you coming in or not?"

Standing straight once more, Sakura walked inside the shop and sat in the stall she had been lead to. There was food on their table already which made Sakura wonder.

"Sasuke, how long was I outside?"

"Long enough for me to get some food. Now eat up."

He rested his back against the chair he was sitting on while Sakura started scarfing down the food in front of her one by one. She paused and released the sweets for a while the minute she noticed something.

"You're the one who dragged me here." she pushed one of the plates slightly towards his direction. "At least eat one."

He shook his head.

"Don't you remember? You just told me a while ago." he pushed the plate back. "I don't like sweets."

"Can't you at least taste it?" she grabbed one of the chocolates and held it in front of Sasuke.

"No."

"Please?" her eyes widened and her lips started pouting.

He shook his head. He grabbed the sweet piece of food from Sakura and set it on the plate.

"No. I am not tasting it. I am not eating it either."

"Aren't you even curious how it tastes?"

"No."

"That's impossible." Sakura's eyes widened in amusement. She had never met anyone who wasn't IN to sweets.

She just kept quiet and continued munching on the food Sasuke had taken earlier. Sasuke was just watching her silently as she ate herslef through the sweets. She raised her head to look at the shinobi in front of her.

"Well? You're paying."

"I don't have any money on me." he shrugged his shoulder and went back to watching her eat. But she stopped and crossed her arms. "You pay."

"You dragged me here!" she stood up with her hands resting on the table. "I'll pay if you eat at least one piece!"

Sasuke released a heavy sigh and ordered Sakura to sit down again and she did. He remained quiet. Still, Sakura was waiting for him to grab a piece but he just sat there right in front of her.

"Well?" She had asked him.

As if scheduled, Sasuke rolled his eyes as his hand reached for the half empty plate of sweets. Picking up a small piece of chocolate, he slowly placed it in front of his mouth. Sakura was already in suspense, eager but also nervous to find out how Sasuke would find it. He was shaking, not knowing why, but he was.

He opened his mouth a took a small bite of the food in his fingers. Slowly letting his tongue dwell on the taste and his teeth chew on it. Next, he swallowed the tiny chewed up pieces.

"Well...?"

Sakura gripped on the edge of her skirt, feeling uneasy because Uchiha Sasuke had eaten one of the most things he had despised throughout his life as a shinobi. He gave out a small smirk and released the rest of the food he was handling back to the plate it came from.

"It'll do."

After that, he had called one of the waiters and told him to wrap up the rest of the food in two different bags. Both shinobis walked out of the shop and started strolling to the direction of Sasuke's apartment.

"Wait... So you like sweets now?"

"No. I'll just munch on these whenever there's nothing to eat at my place."

He placed his other hand in his pocket while the other one held the bag of sweets by its edge. Sakura, on the other hand, was hugging the small bag of sweets against her chest. Thinking of Sasuke's face back at the Chocolate Emporium, she giggled a little. Sasuke looked at her with confusion.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing..."

They've reached The front of Sasuke's apartment a few minutes later. He opened the door and invited Sakura in.

"N-No thank you. I still have to go to Naruto's and drop something there."

"Okay then."

Sasuke was just about to close the door when Sakura had used her foot to block it.

"Are you sure you don't really like sweets."

He opened the door once more while Sakura had set her foot back where it was before. Sasuke stepped forward until they were just at least 3 inches away.

"No..." He kissed Sakura's forehead and headed back inside. "But I might be in love with someone who made me eat them."

She stood there, frozen, surprised from what she just had heard. He closed his door, leaving Sakura on his front door.

'WEll... This is....' she couldn't find the word to describe the moment. She was a bit too confused how it happened.

'NEW IS THE WORD, SAKURA...' her inner self had told her. She nodded and headed to the rooftops. She figured that it would be better if she had just literally dropped of something at Naruto's. On the way, she saw the blonde shinobi who lived in the apartment she was heading towards walking down the street.

"Naruto!" she yelled as she landed on one of the roofs.

"Sakura! What are you doing there?" He looked at Sakura as she sat squated on one of the rooftops.

She grabbed something from her pocket and threw it to Naruto. It was Tsunade's necklace. She had forgotten to return it for quite sometime since she took it off while healing the minor injury on his chest.

"Thanks! I almost forgot about it!"

"Well, that's it. I still have a lot of preparations for next week."

Naruto thought about it. Was there something special next week?

"Ne, Sakura-chan!" He waved at the kunoichi.

"Hmm??" she gathered her chakra to the right area and jumped from the rooftop and in front of Naruto. "What is it?"

"Am I missing something? What's with next week?"

"It's Christmas, baka!" she slapped Naruto's arm.

"Christmas? Where did November go to??!" He stated as he rubbed the arm that Sakura had just hit.

"Right past your empty head, Naruto." She tapped Naruto's forehead lightly.

"Well, what would you like for Christmas then?"

"I wouldn't be expecting anything from anyone this year.. If ever you're giving me something, just surprise me."

"Okay, then, bye!" Naruto waved at the kunoichi and took off with the necklace in his hands.

Sakura walked home and started taking out the decorations from the closet of her apartment. In the middle of putting up the decorations, someone knocked on her door.

"Sakura!"

She knew that voice. That girly and extremely annoying voice. She opened the steel door and there she was.

"What do you want, INO!??!"

"I heard from Naruto that you're getting ready for Christmas. I was just going to see if you needed some help!"

'Naruto... That figures...' she closed the door as she let the blondie in. Ino looked around her apartment and scratched the back of her head.

"Sakura... You're just getting started? But you have a big home and so much decorations?"

"Why are you even willing to help me out this year? You're always busy during the week before Christmas." Sakura reached for the box beside her and pulled out a streamer with "MERRY CHRISTMAS" written on it in big letters.

"Well," Ino grabbed the other end of the streamer. "My family just finished decorating. We had to start early since we still had the flower shop to decorate. But we got some help from Chouji and Shikamaru this year."

Ino helped her friend in decorating her whole apartment. From the banners in the living room up to the decorations in her bathroom. All that was left to decorate was her room. Ino looked out the window and it was past noon already.

"I think I better go home for lunch. I'll be back, okay?"

"No need. I'll decorate my room by myself. I don't wanna be a bother."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then. Merry Christmas, Sakura."

Ino had left her unit and Sakura slumped onto the leather couch behind her. She turned on the TV with the remote beside her and decided to see what was on. Seeing nothing had caught her interest, she turned it off and decided to cook lunch. She was eating her homemade meal by herself when she heard another knock on her front door. She opened the door and found Genma with a bag clinging onto his shoulder.

"Telegram for Haruno Sakura." he pulled out an envelope from the bag and handed it to her.

"So you just deliver mail these days?" she grabbed the letter from the Jonin in front of her.

"It has a good pay. Anyway, Merry Christmas." he walked away.

Sakura closed her door and sat back in her kitchen. Leaving the letter unopened, she decided to read it after she was done eating. So she finiished up quickly and opened the rectangular envelope.

Dear Sakura,

Sorry I didn't get to greet you this morning. I was just wondering... What would you like for a gift? I never really asked anyone about it. So what do you think will satisfy you this year? Merry Christmas, Sakura-san.

Signed, Uchiha Sasuke.

Seriously... Was this Sasuke? She never thought he'd be that... Considerate to give her a gift. Was it because of what happened today?

The sun was already about to set when she thought she could give a note to Sasuke. She was thinking about it and maybe she could tell him what she had told Naruto. She took a piece of paper from her desk and wrote on it.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Meanwhile, Sasuke was at home watching movies in his room while eating away the sweets he had taken home. Though it was true that he had nothing left to eat at home, it was also true that he had developed some liking for the chocolates.

He was waiting for Sakura's response to the letter he had sent her. Someone suddenly knocked on the shinobi's door. He stood up but then he heard the knock again. He went out of his room and headed towards the door. The person outside knocked once more.

"Oii, I'm coming."

He twisted the knob of his door. Feeling the cold breeze that passed him when he had opened the door, he realized no one was there. He was about to close the wooden door when he noticed a small piece of pink paper attached on his door.

Sasuke-kun! I don't really expect anything from anyone this year. If you're thinking of giving me a present, just surprise me! Anything will do!

Merry Xmas !  
Sakura Haruno :)

He closed the door behind him and went back to his room. He was almost out of sweets when he sat on the edge of his bed, still holding onto the note the kunoichi had left. He placed on the table beside his bed. His eyes shifted from the piece of paper to the frame he had displayed there. It was a picture of him, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura when they were still Genins. He smiled at the thought that the girl who was weak before had finally made his heart beat for her own. Although, he knows it wouldn't last long... The happiness she had given him wouldn't last long...

"Fuck..." he had stated to himself as he slammed the table the note and the frame were on. "Why me, Itachi??!"

A teardrop fell from his dark eyes as he continued to curse his condition. He lay on his bed, taking note that it was already night and he hadn't eaten dinner yet. Tsunade and Shizune swore to keep it a secret from his beloved pink haired kunoichi, Sakura. His head flashed back to the moment he talked to Tsunade and Shizune when he had just arrived form the village an few months back.

"You're fine, Uchiha." The Fifth Hokage flipped through the papers on the clip board in the palm of her hands.

"That's good to hear."

"We just have to find a way to cure Itachi's cut on your chest. Or else..." Tsunade pointed at the shinobi's chest with her index finger.

"Itachi said... Before he died... I wouldn't last long with this cut on my chest..." Sasuke covered up the big wound on his chest with his ragged and wounded hand.

"Well, Sasuke. I can't tell you anything but this... You will only last a year of less..." Tsunade placed the clipboard on the table beside her patient's bed.

"But... Godaime-sama! There is an operation that we can-"

"Shizune! That operation is now obsolete. We used it too many times and we most definitely cannot use it any longer."

"It's okay, Tsunade-sama... I never really pictured myself living long..."

The two medical ninjas faced Sasuke with blank faces. Tonton, on the other hand, was just snooping around Sasuke's room. All three shinobis felt a slight breeze come from the window.

"I can make the most out of my life before I die... But I want a favor."

"As long as we can do it." Tsunade dipped her head into confirmation that she would do anything she could.

"Do not tell anyone about it. Only the three of us will know about this... I don't want getting the others worried. I just want them to think that I'm back to living a normal life... And I want to believe that myself..."

"We understand."

"Do not tell anyone about this wretched condition! Not Kakashi! Not Naruto! And especially not Sakura!!!"

He hit his chest lightly as tears suddenly piled up in his eyes.

"We promise."

And with those final words, the medics left him alone in his room to let him cry out alone.

"Fuck..." he stated once more as he fell asleep through the night...

I think I went too far with this... THere's too much drama. It's fine. I'm a dramatic king of person and I'm sorry if I ever caused you any trouble on wasting your time reading it... I wouldn't blame you if you didn't like it... R&R please!!! Teehee! 


	2. 3 Days to Christmas

**How Will I Get Over You**

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You don't know how grateful I am for all reviews, guys! Thanks to you, I have a reason to make fanfics! I love you all! Not to be that demanding but tell your friends about it! If you don't feel like it, it's fine. Here's the next chapter for this story.

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**CHAPTER 2 - 3 Days to Christmas**

After Sasuke's flashback, he had fallen asleep, unconsciously dreaming about his final day.

_"Sasuke-kun, please..." A sweet voice came out from nowhere. All he saw was black but he could hear a sweet voice and smell cherries all around him. He could feel a slight breeze passing by every now and then as well. "Sasuke-kun?" He felt her hand shaking his shoulder. "Sasuke!!!"_

_He tried moving his body but he couldn't. Moments later, he could feel his body. He moved his hand over the one that has been shaking him a while back._

_"Sa-Sakura?" Little by little he opened his eyes, noting that he has been lying on Sakura's lap for quite sometime now. Her pink hair was dangling as her head was dipped as she cried for the young Uchiha. "Sakura? I-I'm here..."_

_She looked at the boy on her lap but her tears continued falling. She couldn't control them. Holding onto the hand over one of hers, she tightened her grip._

_"Sasuke-kun... Why didn't you tell me about this?" She brushed his hair over and over._

_"Where am... I?" He lifted his body from his previous position and tried glancing at his environment. As he looked around, his eyes came upon a field of grass and cherry blossom trees with flower petals flying around them. He tried reminding himself that this was all just a dream but somehow, it still hurt him._

_She stood up and walked away from the shinobi who had been sitting on the grass. She couldn't look back and he wanted to stop her, however, his body didn't budge. She kept on walking while he was just sitting there. He couldn't let her walk away from her like that but then again, what else could he do?_

_"Why, Sasuke-kun?" Her voice echoed throughout the fields as he looked around, trying to figure out where the voice came from. "Why didn't you tell me?" Feeing he could move once again, he stood up and slowly walked towards one of the Cherry Blossom trees. "Don't you know: The more you hide... The more it'll hurt me when I find out?"_

_She was nowhere to be found at that point. She was nowhere near him. Where was the voice coming from? He reached out his hand as one of the petals had landed on the faced-up palm._

_"For every petal that falls down... Is a tear I shed as I grieve for you..." The wind blew stronger as the statement was released. Petals flew wildly than they had before. "I don't know how I'd get over you..."_

_He curled his hand into a fist, therefore imprisoning the petal in his hand. As he turned around, he realized that his older brother was standing there._

_"Die..." Itachi stated._

"NO!" He panted as he rose from his bed. He realized that the sun was already up before he could realize that he was sweating so bad. He wiped his forehead and ran to the bathroom immidiately. He checked his appearance by glaring at the mirror. He took a bath and decided it was time for him to look for Sakura's perfect gift.

Meanwhile, Sakura had just finished putting up her decorations. A few days more and Christmas comes by. She took out the food she had just cooked when somebody knocks at her door so she opens it at once. Surprised to see him, the silver-haired Jonin didn't seem to care less about her expression and just went in her apartment.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" She closed the door as she went back into her room to clean up.

"Well, Ino had told me all about your all-day decorating yesterday so Naruto and I decided to help you clean out. We just finished cleaning our houses yesterday."

She grabbed a plastic and stuck a handful of garbage in.

"Am I the only one who put up her decorations late this year?!" She continued the deed while Kakashi helped her out. "Where is the idiot anyway?"

"He said he'd follow after I left. But then again, he did catch my anti-punctuality syndrome."

"I'm glad you're aware of that, sensei. I thought you'd be living your life by your own time."

"Hey, I am currently aware of that syndrome but I never said I's improve!"

Both of them just continued as they waited for the loud ninja to arrive. They soon finished up cleaning the Living room, her bedroom and the kitchen. All that was left to clean was the bathroom but they decided to leave that out until Naruto gets to the pink haired lady's house.

"Ugh! What's taking him so long? I'm going to clean up the bathroom so when Naruto gets here, we can all eat! I cooked a dish that's good for three servings and that should be enough."

"No need. He's already here." Kakashi pointed at the door. By the time she had looked, Naruto was already taking off his sandals. "You're late, Naruto."

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I had to pick up the food."

"Food? What food?" Sakura walked past the room until she got close enough to Naruto. She crossed her arms and tapped her feet. "I've cooked for an hour and a half and here, you bring food??!"

"Well," Kakashi took the plastic Naruto had carried and headed for the kitchen. "To be honest, one serving for each of us isn't enough."

"Well, if I knew you guys were coming, I would've cooked more."

She went back to the kitchen and took out the plates. Of course, she also took out the chopsticks. While she was preparing the meal, Kakashi and Naruto started clearing up all the trash in her bathroom. She called them out as she brought out the tray of food into the living room table.

"Sakura, what food did you cook?" Kakashi sat in front of the low table.

"My mom taught me how to make Ramen so there. You have your soup."

"Don't tell me you're trying to stay on diet." Naruta stated as he gave out a small chuckle.

"Naruto..." She tried controlling her temper. "I AM on diet."

The blonde shinobi's eyes widened as he stopped himself from laughing. He just realized that he might have insulted the Fifth Hokage's apprentice. He expected a powerful blow from Haruno Sakura, but instead, she patted him on the head and sat down to eat.

"Itadakimasu!" They all said in unison as they all grabbed for their chopsticks.

After finishing their meal, Naruto suggested they'd go gift hunting.

"As much as I'd love to go with you guys, I still have some stuff to work on with the others and the chunin exams next year. Time will go by us quickly and we need to fix up some papers and documents before the last minute." Kakashi stood up and headed for the door.

"Okay then. Good luck, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi waved at them as he left the room, leaving Sakura and Naruto to get ready for the gift hunting. Sakura put on a coat since she felt a little chilly while Naruto was just accessorized with an orange scarf. They left the apartment and went to the village.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

She punched his shoulder lightly and he rubbed it as they strolled through the crowd.

"What was that for, Sakura-chan??!"

"Why did you take me along with you? I thought if you're going to give me a gift, just surprise me!"

"This is my gift to you." He put his arm around her shoulder as he kissed her forehead. "3 days to Christmas, Sakura-chan!"

"What?" She rubbed the back of her head in confusion. She forced herslef out of Naruto's arms as she looked at him with confusion.

"I'm going to take you to get whatever top 3 things you want." He brought out his wallet and checked his money. "As long as it's affordable to me."

Sakura gave Naruto a big hug. Though Naruto liked it, he didn't really know what the hug was for. Once she had pulled away, she grabbed Naruto's hand as she dragged him through town. She knew just the thing she could get Naruto to buy for her. She was sure that he couldn't be short on money for that.

She dragged Naruto into a shop of clothes. She wanted to buy something for Naruto first. She decided on letting him try on an orange jacket though, orange looked a little too common for Naruto so she grabbed one of the blue ones instead. Though the color wasn't really for him, he looked just fine. In fact, he looked a little bit different this time and she wanted to see more of him that way.

"Sakura-chan? Why did you buy blue? And who are you giving it to? Why's you have to let me try it on? Why-"

"Naruto!" She cut him off before he could even ask her again. "You have too many questions." She handed the bag to the blonde shinobi but he seems to be lost.

"Why are you giving the bag to me? You want me to carry it?"

God, was he slow! She wanted to give him a good blow but then, it's Christmas. She decided she should hold back her temper this season for him. She released a heavy sigh before she looked at Naruto.

"Naruto, this is for you."

"You made me buy my own gift?" He took the bag from Sakura's fingers.

"Apparently, yes. Obviously. Well then, me next!"

She pulled his hand once again and this time dragged him into a store for stuffed toys. She didn't really know why she brought him here but she felt like buying one of the stuffed animals that surrounded them.

"Sakura-chan, I didn't know you liked these kind of things."

"I didn't know either. I guess the thought just hit me by now."

She strolled around the shop until one of the employees came out to greet them.

"Good day to the both of you. May I help you with anything?"

Sakura nodded her head and confirmed their need for help. She just couldn't decide what to get herself. There were so many of them. Naruto was just standing in one area of the store, feeling uncomfortable about moving in a place filled with stuffed animals. While the girl guided Sakura to the top selections, Naruto glanced at the toys around him. Why would someone who was as mature as her want things like this? Come to think of it, he also saw Kiba giving one to Hinata when her birthday arrived. It continued to puzzle him on why females had developed love for those kind of things. Sakura walked towards Naruto with an orange stuffed fox with a forehead protector wrapped around its neck.

"What's that supposed to be?" He pulled it away from Sakura as he examined the soft fox. She pulled it away from him but with a gentle touch.

"Don't treat Naru like that!" She hugged the stuffed toy within her arms.

"Naru?" He chuckled softly but still looked confused. "Who's that?" She looked at Naruto with raging eyes. "Don't tell me you're naming that thing 'Naru', are you?"

"Yes I am." She nodded with a sweet smile on her face. "This is merely a remembrance for you taking me out on this date."

"Date?" He felt his face heat up as he turned bright red in front of the kunoichi. "What date?"

"Oh come on!" She rolled her eyes and pushed Naruto lighlty making him take a step back. "You think I don't know what you're up to? I'm guessing after the third present you'd buy for me, you're going to treat me at Ichiraku's next."

"Well, ugh!" He scoffed. "I... Okay fine. Am I THAT predictable?"

"Obviously!" She snatched his hand once again and dragged him in front of a store for sweets.

"No, Sakura, I am not eating here!"

She rolled her eyes and pulled him inside of the store. She knew what Sasuke would like next. After ordering a selection of sweets, she and Naruto walked out of the shop. Naruto, a bit curious, was wondering why she had picked up stuff like that.

"Don't tell me that's for Kakashi-sensei."

"Of course it's not. It's for Sasuke-kun."

Now Naruto was in an even bigger shock. He couldn't believe his ears. Sasuke hated sweets and it was so obvious. Just saying it was like saying 'It's bright during day and it's dark during night.'

"Hold on. Did you just say the sky is blue?"

"Naruto! I'm serious. This is really for Sasuke-kun. Oh man... I forgot about Kakashi-sensei."

"I know the perfect gift!"

"Naruto, I am not going to a book shop just to buy his Icha Icha series!" She crossed her arms.

"Not that! Well, I was thinking about that too but it's way better!"

"What?"

"Get him to stay in the village."

"What?!"

"Isn't it that every Christmas, every other shinobi spends time with their family so they request for a day-off?" They started walking down the streets.

"Yeah? Well, what's up with that?"

"Kakashi-sensei lives alone so he doesn't ask Tsunade-sama for any day off. That's our present for him."

"Good idea. Wow, I never thought I'd be saying that to you. When did you come up with that?"

"I've been thinking about it since last month."

"Last month?" Sakura stopped. "I was almost impresse but I had to ask..."

Naruto brought him to Ichiraku next for lunch. As usual, Naruto had more than one bowl but SAkura couldn't even finish the large bowl Naruto had ordered for her. After the meal, they both went outside to take a walk.

Soon enough, both of them realized that snow was falling from above. Sakura's heart was warmed. She was overjoyed. Although, she was hoping to have this moment with Sasuke by her side but this was just right. Moments later, streets were flooded with snow. Sakura scooped a handful of snow and tossed it at Naruto. He took revenge by throwing one at the pinkie. Soon, they were having a snowball fight.

"Sakura! You better stop if you don't want to drown in a pile of snow!"

"No!" She kept on throwing snowballs at the blondie.

He had no other choice. He pushed Sakura into the pile of snow but he didn't expect her to pull him in too. Not for long, they were both laughing while sitting in a pile of snow. But, Sakura didn't really expect Sasuke to pass by them. He was gloomy as usual but he was carrying a small plastic and that bag looked familiar to Sakura. She just purchased something from the same store... It was the plastic from the Chocolate emporium.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"What's that, Sakura-chan?" Naruto stood up from the pile and helped Sakura up.

"It's Sasuke-kun... Listen, can I-?"

"Don't give it a second thought, SAkura-chan. Sure you can go. Just meet me outside of Tsunade-baa-chan's office at 5:00. We'll tell her about the plan."

"Okay then. Thank you, Naruto-kun."

She couldn't think of any way to thank him so she kissed his cheek and ran off. While Sakura ran off, he was still stunned from what had happened. She touched the cheek that was smacked earlier as he blushed.

"Oi, Naruto..." He heard a familiar voice from behind. "Don't you go blushing in the middle of the street for no reason. It's embarrassing."

"Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?" He turned around to look at the man a few inches taller than him.

"I was on my way to the book shop to get the new issue of Icha Icha." He looked at Naruto. "Say, Naruto... Do you have a present for me on-"

"Don't think about it, Kakashi-sensei. I'm already leeched out."

"Oh. Sakura?" It was obvious since Kakashi had just seen her rushing down away from Naruto with a bag and a stuffed toy in her arms.

"Yes."

"It's fine. I've got enough money. I was just trying. It was worth a shot."

"Am I that gullible?"

"Nope. Merry Christmas, Naruto." He walked towards the direction of the bookshop.

"Merry Christmas, Kakashi-sensei!!!!"

Meanwhile, Sasuke had already reached his apartment with the small plastic bag of sweets was within his hands. He recalled the woman telling him that most boys buy their girlfriends that kind of chocolate. When the lady said girlfriend, all he could think of was Sakura so he purchased the selection he had been eyeing on. He knew it would be the perfect gift for Sakura. He turned on the television. Slowly, he felt himself getting sleepy by the minute so he had closed his eyes. Later on, he had opened his eyes and heard someone knocking.

"Sasuke-kun?" She knocked again. It was Sakura. "Sasuke-kun, are you there?"

"Yeah! Hold on a second." He rushed to hide his present. He couldn't let her see it before Christmas. "You can enter."

She opened the door, not surprised to see him switching from channel to channel while sitting on the couch. As usual, even when he got back, he was like this. Although she couldn't see it, he was trembling inside. Shaking before her presence. He was nervous and he didn't know why.

"Sasuke-kun?" She slowly walked forward. She decreased her pace even more when he had looked at her with such dull eyes. "I just wanted to ask you if you didn't have any plans for the evening of 24th. Well, do you?"

"I think. I don't know yet." He set his attention back to the box in front of him, still switching the channels.

"Ohhh... Well let me know, okay?" She walked towards the door. Before she left his apartment, she gave him a sweet smile.

He didn't know why he denied it. The truth is, he really didn't have any plans. In the meantime, like their agreement, Sakura showed up in front of Tsunade's door at 5:00, sharp. She saw a familiar blonde standing inside as she opened the door.

"Did I miss anything?" She asked as she closed the doorand walked towards Naruto.

"No. Now, Naruto. What was it you were going to say?" Tsunade was looking at him with such cruel eyes.

"Uhm. It's about..." He was stammering, no surprise about that. Whenever the old lady went to the serious area, Naruto would back off in fear. He took one step backwards. "Tell her, Sakura-chan."

'He chickened out again?' Sakura thought. She faced the Hokage and let out a heavy sigh.

"Tsunade-sama. We have a request for Kakashi-sensei. A surprise, if you will."

"Lay it on." She sat down on her chair and turned away from the two shinobis in front of her desk. "I'm listening, Haruno."

"It's about Kakashi not having a day-off on Christmas. We thought it'd be perfect if this year, he got to stay in the village." Sakura was standning proud while the Nine-tailed brat was just standing there.

"I know. I've been wanting to give him that for quite some time."

"WHAT??!" Sakura and Naruto gasped. Someone like her? Giving a certain shinobi a break? Who was she and what did she do to the real Tsunade?

"Yes. But, as the elders have informed me, Kakashi is the one begging for a job during winter. Besides, he doesn't have a family, why else would he stay in this village during the time of year when families get together?"

"Well, my parents are out of town, on a trip to some spa in the Hidden Waterfall." Sakura shrugged. Well, it was true. This year, besides Sasuke and Naruto, there was no one else to keep her company.

"And I have always spent my Christmas Eves with Iruka-sensei... But this year, he's finally got a wife and kids, I don't think I can."

"We'll be Kakashi-sensei's family this Christmas. We can't just let him risk his life on Christmas Eve, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade had thought that both of them had a point. Sakura's parents were on an anniversary honeymoon, Iruka was already married, Sasuke had always been alone and it was just right for them to be together.

"Well, if that's the case, I'm sure there are other shinobis available."

"There are plenty, Tsunade-baa-chan."

"Leave. My. Room. If. You. Want. To. Live." She said slowly. Not wanting to cause any trouble, Naruto scooted away from the office as soon as the warning had been stated. Sakura followed after.

On the other hand, while the both of them were walking happily in the middle of the snow-filled streets, Sasuke was relaxed at home. Well, at least he was until he heard some one knock on the door. And whom would that be? It was Kurenai.

"Sasuke Uchiha? Is anyone home?" He stood up and opened the door. Of course it would be rude not to open the door for someone older... Waaaay older.

"What is it? And make it quick."

"Tsunade-sama has summoned you."

He turned his TV set off and immidiately went to the Godaime's Office. Of course, just like Sakura and Naruto had left him, she was still sitting on her chair, facing the window.

"Tsunade. What do you want?" He crossed his arms.

"Is that how you treat a Hokage with respect?" He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I have a mission for you Anko and Sai."

"You want me to work with that gay bitch, Sai? And did you forget my condition??!"

"Sasuke, you are urgently needed for this mission. Sakura lives in this village and there are shinobis on their way to sabotage this place in a few days. Will you let Sakura and your friends blow up along with this vil-"

"I don't care if they blow-up! I'm about to die and you can't give me a chance to live my life to the fullest?"

Tsunade was fed up. She stood up from her seat and pushed the chair until it hit the wall.

"That's what you get for running away with Tayuya and those Sound freaks. And now that you have to live your life, you also have to take the high road and protect those that are precious to you." She walked towards him and lifted him up by pulling up his shirt. "Protect them before it all disappears... Before it's too late! Do you want Sakura to die with you?!"

"Yes! I want her to be wit-"

"No! If you really care for her, you would let her live HER life to the fullest! You would let her be happy on her own." She dropped him, causing him to land on his ass on the carpet. "You'd let her be happy, let her live as much as she wants. And when she wants to go, she WILL go."

Sasuke remained quiet.

"You will tell me your decision before sunrise and you will depart tomorrow. Dismissed."

He silently exited the room as he made his way to the streets. As he thought about it, he decided he should stop by the Chocolate Emporium and get something to calm his nerves from the 'old bitch' he had just conversed with. He entered and ordered a simple glass of chocolate milk. He did admit that he was getting over with chocolate. Anyway, as he sat there, drinking his coffee as he tried to straighten things out in his mind. He sat by a window with an empty seat in front of him.

'Am I being too selfish? Am I being unfair?' He thought to himself as he just stared at the half-empty cup in his fingers. 'Maybe I should do this for her.. And for everybody else... Hmpf. Sounds like something Naruto-dobe would say...'

His condition was complicated and frustrating. Was this karma for what he did back then? For leaving the one who cared about him the most behind? Come to think of it, he didn't even listen to a word she said before he left. He was too caught up with revenge. He pushed her out of his game and now when he needs her most, it seemed hard to pull her back in... Although, that wasn't the problem. The problem was he couldn't put himslef properly in his own game. If he chose to go to that mission, successful or not, his destiny was sealed. He would die if he uses a large amount of chakra. But, if not, if the village was sabotaged, they would both die. So which will it be?

Not from far away, he had heard a familiar laugh. It was cute, it was overwhelming... It was Sakura. Along with her giggles, she had heard another person chuckling. He peeped through the shop's window and saw Naruto and Sakura playing with the snow. She seemed so happy. And all of a sudden, an old man approached him.

"Hello son, I am the owner of this Chocolate Emporium. Do you mind if I sit here?" He gestured onto the empty chair in front of the Uchiha.

"Sure, Grampa." So he sat down carefully, trying not to break anything.

"I've seen you a couple of times here. Three of four maybe." He fixed his glasses and took a good look at the boy in front of him.

"Yes. I've been here a few times."

"Yes. And as I recall, you were with that beautiful lassie over there when you first came in." He pointed at the kunoichi the Nine Tails was playing with. "She is one of our regular customers here." Sasuke didn't reply. Instead, he was waiting for him to talk again. "You know, I've never really seen her happy like that inside this shop. If I had to see her happy, I had to see that blonde kid too."

Was this supposed to make Sasuke feel better? Because if it was, it wasn't doing its job. In fact, he was hurt. It was even more painful than Itachi's cut.

"I'm just saying that... Aren't you happy seeing her like that? Giggling, smiling, her laughs filling the air?" Sasuke tightened his grip on his cup as the old man continued. "I can see it in your eyes. You care for her, you feel for her... And you love her. If she's happy, aren't you happy?"

Well, old man was starting to get on his nerves. Although, he did nerves. Although he did make a point. He'd be happy if she saw her smiling like that all the time. Even if it means he wasn't the one making her smile.

"If you really love Sakura-kun over there, you'd have to set her free and let her live her own life, Sasuke-kun."

He startled just by hearing his name. How did that old man-?

"How did you-"

"Don't ask. Well then, are you ready to leave?" The old man stood up. "It's dark already and we need some more tables."

"Sure old man. Thank you."

"No, thank you for your time. And don't worry about the coffee, it's all been paid for."

"By whom?"

"By me, young lad." He patted Sasuke and the back and gave him a cheerful smile. "Now good luck. Merry Christmas, Sasuke-kun."

He had left the Emporium. And now, seriously, he and Sakura needed to talk about this. He looked for her, although, he didn't think he'd spot her at home. Imagine, he's been circling the whole village looking for her, thinking she was still with Naruto but he had found her at home, eating her dinner peacefully. He saw a kit in the living room with wires, strings beads and what-so-ever. He had entered through the window, hoping to surprise her but she felt his presence. Not knowing it was Sasuke, she grabbed the sneaking man's arm and forcefully flipped him onto her floor. But realizing it was just a friendly visitor, she apologizes and helps him up.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. Really. I didn't know it was you." She patted Sasuke's shoulders to remove dirt, if there was any. "Next time use the door."

It didn't matter to him. There might not be a next time for the both of them. He stood up properly and faced the shorter kunoichi.

"Sakura, would you mind going out with me right now?"

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. DId Sasuke just ask her out? This was too good to be true for her. It was almost as if it was a dream, but it wasn't. It was reality. But one thing made her think.

"Why now? Why not on 24?"

"Don't make it harder. I asked you so just give the answer." He turned around swiftly and headed for the door while Sakura just watched. "If you don't want to, I can just leave and you can go-"

"Okay fine. If that's the case, I'll go." She gave him a weak smile. "Hey, you can wait outside. I'll just get my coat."

So he did as he was told and she did what she told him. It was no big deal for the both of them on the outside, but they were already in full panic mode on the inside. Sasuke just kept on walking until the reached a certain training ground. It was the training ground where they were first tested by Kakashi. They both remained quiet. But then, Sasuke climbed one of the trees by foot and he sat down on a branch. Sakura followed after.

"Sasuke-kun / Sakura" (Both talked at the same time.

"You g-go first." The pinkie stammered as she tucked her hair behind her ears.

"Nah. You go."

"Okay then..." She cleared her throat. "Sasuke, why did you take me out now?"

"I don't know... It's just that... I can't..." Oh, he couldn't alright. He couldn't find the words to say. "I don't know."

"Ohhh..." She looked up at the starry sky, hoping some miracle would happen and let a shooting star pass by.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah." She nodded, looking back at Sasuke. "What about you. You were about to say something."

"Uhhh.... Yeah. But, it's not important anywmore." He shook his head as he looked at the trunk of the tree.

"Come on, Sasuke-kun. What was it?"

"What if...." He sighed. "What if I couldn't live any longer than this week? Would you still like to live?"

She was confused. Where did that come from? Why would he ask such a thing to her?

"Of course I'd like to be with you Sasuke-kun." She wrapped her arm around his and squeezed her self near it. "But I still have a lot of goals in life. I also want to live. Sasuke-kun... IF you weren't going to live any longer, I wouldn't follow immidiately. I'd just promise you I'd be with you someday. Why would you ask a question like that?"

"No reason."

'Goodbye, Sakura.' He thought to himself. It was hard to tell her that without any reason at all. It was even harder to vanish without a reason to the world. No one would know why he died bu him, Tsunade and Shizune.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun. I wanna give you something!" She reached for her pocket and pulled out a chain. Well, it wasn't a chain at all. It was a necklace with a small pendant of a letter S in the middle. "It's homemade. Sorry if it's not too much." So that's why there was a kit in the living room. "I still have a bag of sweets for you at home. If I knew you were going to ask me out tonight, I would've pulled it out of the ref."

"It's okay." He wore the necklace and looked at the pendant. "By the way, what does the 'S' stand for? 'Sakura' or 'Sasuke'?"

"Whatever's fine with you!" She gave him a sweet smile which was saying 'Everything's gonna be fine!'.

Without any second thoughts, before Sakura had broken away from her smile, Sasuke placed his hand on one side of her neck with his thumbs running over her cheek. His black orbs were looking into Sakura's jaded ones. Inch by inch, their faces fall closer to each other until Sasuke kissed Sakura's tender lips. His eyes were closed but he felt a tear run down his cheek. He couldn't let Sakura see him like this, he just couldn't so he pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." His eyes were filled with tears. Moments ago, he seemed ready to die, without hesitation. Come what may, he was ready for death. But at this moment, after kissing her and now with her in his arms, he was afraid to die. He was afraid to leave her alone. Feeling her hugging him back, he tightened his hug on the kunoichi. "I love you, Sakura."

"Sasuke-kun..." He felt his shirt was getting a little damp. Obviously, Sakura, too, was tearing up. What will it be? Will he choose to live within this moment, stay here until they die soon and forget about the mission? Or leave her, seal his fate and save her. It was hard to choose in the moment but it became after Sakura had spoken. "I love you, Sasuke-kun."

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Next Chapter: What will be Sasuke's decision? Will he go on to the mission or will he stay with Sakura? His mind is saying 'Stay With Sakura' but his heart is saying 'Save Sakura'... If you wait for the next chapter! Chapter 3 - Mind or Heart?

Randomly Speaking: Hey guys! Thanks for putting me in favorites, subscribing and the reviews... Although, I deleted most because most of them are from my dweeby cousins! I love you guys! So, I have some questions... I just wanna ask, who do you want to die for Sakura? Sasuke or Naruto? I already made my decision but I'm just asking.

I won't be updating for two weeks. Quarterly Exams Review Week and Quarterly Examinations Week. Sorry guys. But after that, trust me. I'm all for it!!! Thanks!


	3. Mind Or Heart

How Will I Get Over You?

Thanks guys. For putting me in your alerts and faves. It means a lot to me. I've had some reviews from my cousins, as usual... And Kimette, this is SO not a KakaSaku! It's in between NaruSaku and SasuSaku, got that now ??! Anyway, here's the next chapter! Hope you all like it!

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**CHAPTER 3 - Mind Or Heart?**

The decision was up to Sasuke. Currently, he sits in his living room, trying to figure things out. It was early in the morning and he wasn't able to catch any shut-eye... He never thought he'd be asking for Kami's help but then again, everyone does... And so, he faces the window, trying to think about what he's gonna say to the great Kami. Taking in a heavy breath, he closed his eyes to prepare himself for his prayer.

Kami... Help me out here. I'm really getting confused. I don't know whether I should stay and live the rest of my remaining life happily or should I go and risk it for her? Give me a sign... Just one sign. Anything will do, Kami. Just... Help me out...

After praying to the great Kami, he had returned to his previous task - sitting alone in the living room, listening to his surroundings to be able to get rid of the matter in his troubled head. He didn't seem to care about anything before, especially not Sakura. He had always seen her as an inferior student than Naruto has ever been. She wasn't born from any special clan or anything and her only original task is to be able to ace the exams and analyze genjutsu. He would have been impressed but Shikamaru impressed him even more.

Soon enough, he had found himself staring at the two glasses of water in front of him. One contained one ice cube and the other contained two. He just stared at that, for over 5 minutes. Suddenly, the glass with two whole cubes cracked and eventually leaked and the other glass was still fixed. Was that his sign? Was this what he had asked for? If he would stay with Sakura, everything they'd live for would fall apart but if he leaves her to save her, she'll be safe, surrounded by the things in life that satisfy her.

He had looked at the clock. 3:49. Well, what would his decision be? A few more moments, the sun would rise up high. He needed to think, fast. Is he going to stay or leave? His mind was much more powerful than his heart but his heart seemed the one that was right. Which path? Which way? Which choice? Come what may, he had grabbed his coat and rushed off to the Hokage's Mansion and crashed inside of Tsunade's office.

"Tsunade... I've made up my mind..." He fixed his scarf and walked towards the front of her table. She was sitting on her chair which was facing away from him.

"Which will it be, Sasuke?" She turned her seat and put her elbows on the table. "Your partners are waiting downstairs." He had to think, fast. Whatever choice will come out of his mouth will be final once he had announced it to the Godaime.

"I'm going."

For a few moments, silence dominated the office. They could see the sun's rays up on the horizon. The Hokage formed a smirk on her face and stood up.

"I knew you were going to make the right choice, Uchiha." She stood up from her seat and walked towards the door. "Follow me."

He followed the Sannin until they had reached the ground floor of the building. There, Anko was scarfing down a plate of dumplings while Sai was busy reading his life guide books. Tsunade had explained the mission to the three shinobis and they were ready to head out. They all headed for the main gate of the village.

"You know what to do, guys." Tsunade announced. "Sasuke, are you sure? Is that your final decision?"

"I thought I made the right choice? Make up your mind, bitch!"

"Just because you're about to die, you can live your life by calling me names, Uchiha."

"I'll haunt you when I get a hold of death."

Sai and Anko watched as each of them answered the other wisely. It was like each come back was better than the ones before them, but the next ones seemed to be greater. It was like a sitcom to Anko and to Sai... It was like he had observed them like lab rats; noting their actions and reactions. He still wasn't very good with people. The sun was halfway up when Tsunade and Sasuke stopped.

"Sasuke..."

"What?"

"We're going to miss you." She waved as Sasuke, Anko and Sai ran through the forests.

She hugged herself, thinking of a way to tell Sakura. She figured once Sakura had heard about Sasuke taking off without her consent, she'd freak. And what more when she tells the pinkie about the Uchiha's condition. She wanted to blame everything on Sasuke but she had her own fault here. And hers was the biggest. She wasn't able to stop Sasuke from leaving in the first place. Sakura obviously wouldn't take any effect but Tsunade never tried. It wasn't her fault she couldn't be anywhere.

'December 23... 2 days to Christmas...' Sakura counted down. She was on her way to Naruto's to help him out for his presents for Shikamaru, Choji and the others. Sakura thought it'd be better is she'd help but she doesn't even know what those guy friends of Naruto's like. As soon as she arrived in Naruto's apartment, she settled down by lying down on his couch.

"You're tired?" He opened the TV and sat on the floor, just in front of the couch Haruno was lying on.

"NO!" She shouted sarcastically. As usual, everytime Naruto stated the obvious, she would smack the back of his head. "Remember, I'm on diet. I didn't eat much last night."

"Why are you always on diet? You look fine to me. In fact, you look perfect!"

Okay, now he got on her nerves. Of course she was fine to him... He always thought she looked okay. She always looked perfect to him. How would she know if she was or not by asking someone who had 'stalked' her in her childhood? She sat on the couch and grabbed one of the pillows lying around on the floor and hit her companion on his arm.

"Naruto, why do I always look perfect to you?" She put the pillow down. Naruto settled in too by sitting next to her.

"That's because you are. Sakura-chan, I don't look at people by their outsides but on what's inside of them." She wasn't expecting to answer her question THAT deep. She was 3/4 joking but still had her serious side on the question. "Especially you, Sakura-chan. You're kind and caring. You're also strong physically and strong-minded. You're also brave."

"Okay, Naruto. That's a lot of adjectives." She giggled a little and looked back at him. His eyes were looking right back into hers. His face was painted with a weak smile as he replied.

"I'm not done yet. Where was I? Oh yeah! You're also loving and smart and-"

"Naruto, what gift would you like for Christmas?" She broke the connection of their eyes as she looked at the carpet on the floor. "I don't mean the material ones... I mean the real thing."

"Well, what I want is... To see you happy. That's what would make me smile."

It wasn't an 'I need you'... It wasn't an 'I love you'. But it touched her. She wanted to cry. It had the same meaning. She couldn't look back into his eyes. The moment was awkward and it was harder for her to move around freely than earlier. This time, there was something beating inside of her. But still, she was concerned about Sasuke. Speaking of which, he had passed by her window earlier. She heard a swift *whoosh* earlier this morning, followed by Sasuke's scent. Where was he, anyway?

"Uhh, Naruto? I'm sorry to ruin the moment but... Have you seen Sasuke earlier?"

"Huh? No." He stood up and headed for the kitchen. "In fact, I haven't seen him since last night. For all I know, Genma told me he was locked up in his room. Maybe he's sick."

"That's impossible, Naruto. If he was, he'd tell me." She followed Naruto into the kitchen.

"And why would he tell you?"

"Becau-" She couldn't tell him what had happened last night. She wasn't sure if it would crush him but she still couldn't afford telling anyone right now. "I don't know. He tells me stuff randomly." She wanted to check on Sasuke but she didn't want to leave Naruto alone to search for the gifts.

"I know what you're thinking. Go on. It's fine!" He gave out a big smile showing his perfect teeth. "Go check on Sasuke. He may be looking for trouble right now, Sakura-chan!"

"But-"

"That's all you were thinking about since you asked the question so go ahead. Just meet me back when you can. You don't HAVE to be with me. Just... When you feel like it."

She gave Naruto a big and tight hug. "Thank you! I promise I'll be back! You can go on a head start!"

She rushed to Sasuke's while Naruto stayed in his apartment for a while. Though he was hurt, he wouldn't let Sakura see that. He didn't want her to think she was hurting him because she wasn't. It was obvious that she cared about Sasuke more than she could ever care about anyone, why couldn't he just let her go? Why couldn't he just let go of her hand and let Sasuke take it? In fact, Naruto even thought he was being too selfish. He didn't want to hide Sakura from the world. He just wanted to see her happy even though it pains him to give her away to the one the Nine Tails thought would make her smile.

Meanwhile, Sakura checked his apartment but not a soul was present. Not even its resident owner was there. His doors were locked. She decided she'd look for Sasuke in town but she promised Naruto she'd be back. Whomever she'd find first in town, she'd just go with him throughout the day. She passed by Naruto a couple of times without him noticing her but she set her hopes up on finding Sasuke first. She knew she was unfair. As soon as she had seen him again, she called out his name.

"Naruto!!!!" She waved in the middle of the crowd. "I'm here!!!"

"Sakura-chan!" He rushed over to the kunoichi. People were already passing them by. "I bought quite a few things!"

She peeked into one of the bags.

"Is that Icha Icha? You went to the Mature Collection in the book shop?" She peeked again. "Pork grinds. Lemme guess, for Choji?" He nodded. "Don't tell me you got that crystal set for Shogi and Go that Shikamaru laid eyes on last month."

"I did. It's right here." He lifted one of his arms to show her which side of his bady carried the game set. "See?"

"Naruto, you're to kind!" She smiled at him while she hit his shoulder again.

The sun was about to set when they both realized they haven't eaten yet so they stopped by at Ichiraku's. While Naruto and Sakura had a great time, Sasuke and his team were having lots of trouble setting the traps. His body wasn't even stable.

"Are you sure you're okay, Uchiha?" Anko asked. "You're going pale."

"I'm fine. Stop asking!" He tugged the net and tied it into on of the tree barks. "There. Done."

"I heard Tsunade once outside of your room. Sasuke, you can't hide that condition forever." Sai pointed at the young Uchiha. So Sai was eavesdropping?

"You were-" He stopped. "Who cares?"

"What condition?" Anko was confused as a rat in a maze. "Sasuke?"

"I'm gonna die. It's better if I die earlier. I won't cause that much of a pain to Sakura anyway." He started walking away from Sai and Anko. Sai knew the whole story and so, Anko thought of asking him.

"Where are you going??!" Anko asked. He didn't answer.

Back in the village, Sakura was on her way to her apartment. She opened her door and switched on her lights. Nothing was different. Everything was just the way she left it. After a fun day, she was too exhausted to even change her clothes so she made her way to her bedroom. But then, something wasn't really right here. There was a bag on top of her bed with a note on it. The bag was from the Emporium.

'Sakura. Merry Christmas. This is my gift to you. Sorry it's so small... Sincerely, Sasuke Uchiha.'

Why did she feel like something was wrong? Why did this feel wrong? Something just didn't fit here. There was a wrong piece of the puzzle.

At Naruto's, the blonde was watching TV when someone had tapped on his window. He glanced on his side and saw Sasuke sitting on the roof beside his window so he decided to let him in. Sasuke swiftly glided into the Nine tail's living room in one move. His eyes were filled with regret and sorrow.

"Naruto..." He faced his former teammate and put his arms on top on Naruto's shoulder. "I want you to take care of Sakura, okay? I'm asking as a friend. Please."

"Sasuke, you're the one she loves. You're the one she wants. I can take care of her at certain times but you have to-"

"No." He announced cutting him off. "Naruto, I'm just this guy she had a crush on. It was childhood love and she'll get over it."

"Are you leaving again?!"

"Yes. And this time, it's permanent."

Naruto didn't get it at first, thanks to his slow functioning brain. Bu he caught up with the idea.

"You mean... Sasuke, why didn't you-?"

"Listen. I want Sakura to be happy. I know she's always happy when you're around. She's always smiling when you're with her. Every minute with her feels like heaven... I couldn't let her go at first... And then I realized... You've made her smile yesterday more than I've made her smile in our Genin years. I love her, Naruto but you're the one who deserves her. Promise me you'll take care of her."

He nodded... Naruto was crushed. They loved each other but then... Why was Sasuke telling him this?

"Teach her to love you. I'm leaving her in your care, Naruto. I want her to be happy and that can only happen when you're around. I just want to see her smile even though I'm not the one making her. That's all." He walked towards the opened window slowly. Once again, he faced the blondie. "Thank you, Naruto. For never letting me down."

And in one swift move, he was gone. Naruto never thought about it. He didn't really think he deserved Sakura. She was perfect, smart, kind, strong and Naruto was just plain dumb and he lacked training. How could he deserve someone perfect when he's not even close to average? Was it because he was the one who made her smile? But that explanation wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. That reason wasn't enough. She deserved someone more than him. She deserved Sasuke or someone greater.

"Naruto-kun?" Someone knocked at his door. "Naruto-kun, a-are you here?"

"Yeah. Door's opened."

The person on the other side opened. Wearing her usual purple hoodie, Hinata entered the room.

"Naruto-kun, good evening."

"Hey, Hinata-chan. What brings you here?"

"T-Tsunade-sama wants t-to speak with y-you." She stammered. Of course, Naruto got nervous. Why would Tsunade summon him at a time like this?

"Okay. Thank you, Hinata-chan."

He immediately ran past Hinata and to the door, leaving the Hyuuga in his apartment. Why would she call him in the evening? Unless it was something important, she would never call on him. He jumped through the rooftops, not noticing Sakura walking to the direction of the Hokage's Mansion. She was silent and confused while Naruto was nervous and cracked. He jumped through the window of the Godaime's office.

"What is it, Baa-chan?"

"Naruto. Next time, use the door. You're just like Kakashi." She pointed one side of the room.

Naruto looked at the way the index finger was pointing. And there, Kakashi was sitting, reading his porn novels. As usual, he wasn't ashamed to admit that he was a pervert just like Naruto's Ero-Sennin. The Copy Nin lowered his book and waved at Naruto with an eye crease. Naruto waved back.

"Tsunade-sama, why did you call on me... And about Sasuke-"

"That's what we're going to talk about." Kakashi stood up from his seat and placed his novel inside his kunai pouch where it really is hidden during their missions. "Tsunade-sama, let's get straight to the point."

"Of course. Naruto, as you've noticed, Sasuke wasn't around the village the whole day."

Naruto wanted to tell her what had just happened but he decided to listen to her first and let her finish before he could speak his mind. He simply nodded at the Hokage as felt something at the pit of his stomach. He was really nervous now.

"Since you've requested Kakashi to take a break, I had to look for another person with Sharingan and Sasuke was the person who came close. I've summoned him and sent him on a mission. But before we even released him from the hospital when he had first arrived, we had discovered something about him. Kakashi, hand him the medical forms."

Kakashi stood close to the Hokage's desk and grabbed one of the papers and handed it to the Jinchuuriki. Naruto read it, but he didn't understand a word.

"What's with this?"

"Naruto, Sasuke had a cut on his chest, on the side where the heart is." Kakashi took out his index finger and tapped Naruto on the area that he was referring to. "When he and Itachi were battling, he had been cut. And now, his fate is sealed. In less than a year, he could die."

"Why?"

"His HEART..." He emphasized. "A small portion of his heart was cut and Tsunade's healing jutsu just couldn't get to that part. There is this forbidden jutsu they could use but a medical ninja on Kabuto's level is needed. We can't trust them to heal him since they might take Sasuke away again. If ever he uses Sharingan for an hour or two, that's it. He's finished."

"But why didn't Sasuke tell anyone about it? Why didn't he tell Sakura? Me?"

"Because he didn't want you guys to worry. Naruto, I just knew about this before you even came." He patted Naruto on the shoulder. "I'm sorry Naruto... But he's going to die, one way or the other."

"It's... It's fine with me... But what about Sakura-chan?! How will she take it??!"

Meanwhile, Sakura was just about to enter the Hokage's office when she had heard Naruto's voice. Not trying to be rude, she decided to wait outside the office. But then, she had heard a familiar voice... It was still Naruto's but it was familiar... She knew that tone of his voice... He would stammer and his voice would shake when he was in despair. Before she realized it, she was eavesdropping.

"Naruto, that's why both of you are here. I want you to break it to her easily. And if by any chance she's try to go after Sasuke, make sure she doesn't. The cut in his heart is too deep even though it was small. I'm sorry... But this is the ninja world. And when your fate is sealed, you can't do anything about it... Not even you, Naruto."

At those words, Sakura froze. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wanted to rush in and ask about the details but that wasn't important right now... She was on her way to open the door of the office when the knob suddenly moved. Her tears were falling when Naruto had taken a glimpse of her.

"Sa... Sakura-chan?"

"Haruno...." Tsunade was about to speak when she ran to her office and jumped out of the window. Naruto followed after. Tsunade and Kakashi decided they should go too. They wouldn't want Naruto and Sakura to cause any trouble when they find Sasuke.

Sakura was nervous. Where would she be able to find Sasuke? It was dark. She headed for the main gate. When Naruto had caught up with her, he thought it was best to talk with her.

"Sakura-chan! Turn back! It's too dangerous!"

"NO! Naruto, Sasuke is in mortal danger! I want to help him!" Her tears continued to fall as she jumped from tree to tree. They were already in the forest.

"Sakura! Sakura! Come on! Let's go home!"

"Naruto shut up! I'm going after him!"

Naruto had no choice. He hugged Sakura from behind when they were in mid-air, causing them to fall flat on the ground. Though he was hurt, he was more concerned about Sakura. He didn't want her to go after him. He didn't want Sakura to get into the mission and be a hindrance. And most of all, he promised Sasuke that he would take care of Sakura.

"Sakura! Listen!" He stood up and tried to help Sakura up but she forced herself to lie on the ground, crying for the sake of Sasuke. She was calm but she was still crying. "I promised Sasuke I would take care of you."

"You knew??!" She pulled some of the grass on the ground to vent her feelings. "Why didn't you-"

"I just found out about it when I was in Baa-chan's office earlier. He talked to me before I was called. He was there. I didn't know why but then... Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-sama told me. I'm sorry."

"Naruto... Stop him. Stop him! Don't let him get tired!" Naruto still stood there, looking at Sakura as she lay there looking back at him. "I can't, Sakura. Either way, he's still going to die."

"What..?" She was now rendered confused.

"He had this cut on his chest from Itachi and there was no way to heal it..."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?!?"

Kakashi and Tsunade arrived at the scene, standing behind Naruto.

"It was his choice, Sakura..." Kakashi announced. "He wanted no one to know about it."

"Not Kakashi, not Naruto and especially not you, Sakura."

"Sasuke..........." Sakura whispered to herself...

'Why didn't you want anyone to know? I could have helped you. I could have tried to heal you.' Sakura thought to herself as she hugged her torso and brought her knees a little closer to her chest as she lay on the grass.

"Why didn't you help him?" Rain started pouring down. "There was no way to... We needed Kabuto but we can't risk it. Orochimaru is still out there, desperate for Sasuke's body."

"I..." Rain started to pour down onto them. Kakashi started sniffing out someone's familiar scent. It was familiar but it was faint. He pulled Tsunade away and decided to tell her about it.

"What is it, Hatake?" She crossed her arms in annoyance.

"I think I can smell Sasuke. He's about 3 and a half kilometers away from here."

"Well, is that it?"

"No. There are 6 more scents. The other one seems to be coming from Anko and the other seems to be coming from Sai. There 4 other more shinobis but I can't tell how powerful they are."

"Check on the team. Report back immediately."

"Understood."

In a blink of an eye, Kakashi had fled off. Tsunade went back near the couple and watched as they conversed, soaking wet under the dark and crying skies.

"Sakura-chan, please stand up. You'll catch a cold that way." He knelt in front of her, trying to get her up. Since all of the crying has made her body weak, she couldn't get herself to move away from him nor slap his hand. He put her hand around his neck and stood up and supported her body. "I promised Sasuke I'd take care of you! He left you in my hands. He knows his fate..."

"And not even Naruto can change it." She took off her gambling coat and put it on top of Sakura's shoulder. "Come on, Sakura. Let's get you home."

All of them walked through the forest when they all have heard branches moving. It definitely wasn't the wind since it was only rain that fell down. Kakashi, having his jacket tattered, Sharingan uncovered and his body messed up, had arrived carrying a familiar body on his shoulder. This was a horrible sight for Sakura. She had never thought she would see him like this. She pulled away from him while Kakashi put Sasuke's body on the wet grass. Sakura knelt in front of the unconcious Uchiha in tears.

"Sasuke-kun..." She gathered all the chakra in her hand as it glowed in the shade of light green. Removed his top and placed her glowing hand over his enormous scar on his chest. "Sasuke-kun!"

This time, Tsunade pulled Kakashi away from all three as Naruto watched Sakura as she tried healing Sasuke.

"What happened?"

"Sasuke and I took care of three guys. Anko and Sai can take care of the rest and clean up."

"I mean to Sasuke."

"He used his sharingan. I couldn't believe he would let go of mortality at such a young age."

Godaime looked at Sakura as she continued to try her best.

"Me too." She ran close to Sakura and tried pulling her away from him but she didn't budge. "Sakura, let's go. Let's leave everything to Kakashi and Naruto."

"NO!" She continued and this time, gathered even more chakra. "I want to do something for him! I don't want to be that useless girl back in the Genin days! I want to help him!"

At Sakura's words, Tsunade flashed back to when she had lost two of the most important people to her in the world... Her brother and her lover. Of course she knew it was hard to let go but that was just because it was her decision to grow weak without them. She knew Sakura was strong. She didn't want Sakura to do what she did... She didn't want Sakura to feel bad for herself, to think of herself as someone useless. Slowly, she pulled away, letting Sakura do what she wanted.

"We all know it's hopeless, Sakura." She wouldn't pull her away but she just tried to talk her out of it. "You're wasting your chakra." Still, she didn't stop. She turned to Kakashi and Naruto. "Help me out here."

"Sakura, let's go. We'll just rush Sasuke to the hospital." Kakashi stepped forward but Naruto placed his hand in front of him, signalling not to take a step further.

"Sakura-chan, I think what Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-sama are trying to say is... Not anyone can do anything about it. Itachi... He has sealed Sasuke's fate. He had brought death closer to Sasuke. And Sasuke... He just..."

All of a sudden, Sakura placed her hands on the wet grass and started crying. She knew it. She couldn't do anything. She was even more useless than she ever was.

"Why now? Of all the times to become weak, why now??!" Her screams echoed throughout the rainy forest.

"You don't have to blame yourself, Sakura. It's no one's fault. Not yours, not mine or anyone else's. This is how it was supposed to be." He placed his hand onto her shoulder.

"Sakura..." Tsunade announced. "Come to my office tomorrow morning. I have to talk to you about something."

Convinced that Sakura had clamed down a bit, she left and returned to Konoha. Honestly, she was expecting at least an hour or two of grieving from Sakura. But, she was strong. Sakura was wrong about everything she had just said. She was strong at that moment. She accepted defeat. Defeat that she wouldn't ever get that happy ending she's always been wishing for with Sasuke.

All of a sudden, Sakura had a hard time moving. Her body was like it was paralyzed. She couldn't feel her hands nor her legs. It was impossible to move in this condition. Kakashi immediately noticed her condition with his uncovered Sharingan.

"You must have used up too much chakra, Sakura."

"No..." She gave it her best. She never thought it would be that hard to speak in that condtion. "It's... It's just that... I'm only..." Before she could have finished her sentence, she had fallen beside Sasuke, out cold and unconcious.

"Kakashi-sensei... You take Sakura home. I'll take care of Sasuke's body." He placed Sasuke's hand over his neck and carried his body.

"Where are you going to bring it?" Kakashi did the same to Sakura.

"To the emergency room. In case he wakes up, we need to talk about something."

"Okay then, good luck with that. See you soon." He had formed a seal in with a poof of smoke, Kakashi along with Sakura's body had gone with the wind.

Naruto arrived at the hospital, successful in bringing Sasuke to the emergency room. The nurses had told him he could gain conciousness but once he does, that would be the last 2 minutes of his life. He proceeded to Sasuke's room, shaking and trembling. He was nervous. What if he didn't wake up? Or what if he wasn't there when he'd wake up? He entered the room, surprised to see Sasuke was moving.

"Sasuke??!" He rushed to the side of the bed. He slowly opened his eyes, surprised to see Naruto standing beside him.

"Naruto... Where's SAkura?"

"At home..... The nurse told me that..."

"ABout the 2 minutes... I heard... Well, I was awake earlier. Could you give her this letter a year after this day?"

"You mean... On your death anniversary?"

"Yeah. I just made that thing earlier. I know I couldn't live long so... That's my last message. Thank you Naruto. Make... Make her forget.... Forget everything about me... The times together... Make her realize... That she was... Wasn't meant for me... Convince her that she was born to love you and... And not me. Make.. Make her smile."

"And if I don't?" Naruto asked jokingly.

"I know you're afraid of ghosts so I'll haunt you until you lose your sanity..."

They remained silent for a while but then... Sasuke broke the ice, only to say his final words.

"Naruto... I gotta hand it to ya. To tell you the truth, I pictured myself living longer than you. Well... That's what I get for thinking too much of myself... Goodbye..." Naruto held his hand and tightened his grip.

"Goodbye..."

* * *

**Next Chapter: The Letters...**

Sakura was ordered to meet Tsunade in the morning but why? What would they have to talk about? And what would Naruto do to keep Sakura happy? What would happen after Sasuke's Funeral? What would happen once Sasuke is out of everyone's life for good? How would life change?

**I'll update soon, guys!** Don't you worry! I'm still working on His Last Request Chapter 4. It's pretty hard once you know the beginning and the end but not the middle. R&R !!! Read and Review! EXAMS ARE OVER !!! Entering 3rd Quarter .


	4. Letters

**How Will I Get Over You?**

_Hey guys! I didn't get a lot of reviews, as usual. But a lot of people did put me on their alerts and favorites. Some even subscribed! Thank you all for your support and thanks to all those who really read my stories! This is the Chapter 4! Hope you'll enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 4 - The Letters...**

The night Sasuke died was also the night Sakura felt like her soul was slowly drifting away. What was living for her when Sasuke wasn't there to complete it? She wasn't really sure if she could go on through that night. Every minute of the night felt like years. She would cry a few minutes and then look at the clock, only to find out that only a few minutes have passed by. She kept doing only this until her tears have ran out and her crying has tired her and put her to sleep.

She only slept for a few hours since morning came soon. Naruto was on his way to her house when he had spotted Shikamaru and Kakashi walking the streets. He decided Sakura could wait. He was sure that she was still asleep from crying in the rain last night.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called out. "How's it going?"

"Hmm, Naruto. It seems like nothing happened last night. You seem cheerful as usual." Kakashi said. "How's Sasuke?"

Naruto had all but forgotten about that. He wasn't really sure how to tell Sakura what had happened last night? Of course, he wouldn't tell her about the letter. It was supposed to be given a year after.

"Well, I almost forgot. Sorry... He's..."

"Shikamaru," Kakashi faced the Nara pride. "You may go on ahead. I'll follow after."

"Where are you going?" He tried to stop Shikamaru.

"To the hospital. Ino should have stopped crying about now." Shikamaru looked at his wrist watch and continued walking.

"When did she know?"

"Everyone knows. Someone spread the news this morning right before rush hour." Shikamaru yelled back. After a few minutes, he'd already been gone.

"So I guess I'd better tell SAkura too..." Naruto sounded lonely. Not only because he lost his best friend but because his only love was going to be lonely for a long time.

"Actually, Sakura's on her way to Tsunade's right now. I tried giving her some food but she didn't accept. I think she didn't even eat breakfast this morning." Kakashi announced. "I think you better make her forget about Sasuke at once. She's letting herself go."

"I know I should... I just don't know how to do it yet."

For a beholder of such a creature as the Kyuubi inside of him, Naruto did have a hard time figuring out what to do in the situation. It was like it would take forever for Sakura to get over Sasuke.

"Then you shouldn't work alone... You have to convince everyone in the town to work with you." Kakashi patted Naruto's shoulder. "Sasuke's funeral is tomorrow."

"Already??!"

"Yeah. I'm pretty surprised myself. It's like the village wants to get rid of Sasuke." He started walking away. Naruto checked his pocket for the letter Sasuke gave him. "You know Naruto," Kakashi paused his walk. "I'd rather follow Sasuke's orders and give that to Sakura next year than giving it to her right now. She still has one letter waiting for her at the Hokage's office."

"Wha-?" Naruto's eyes snapped. "How did you-"

"Shinobi's intuition. See you soon." He continued walking away.

Naruto, still confused on what the Copy Nin meant, started walking towards the opposite direction of Sakura's house. Of course, knowing she wasn't there anymore, there was no use going there. Well, it was true that he wanted to give the letter to Sakura that very minute... But Kakashi was right. He should wait a year before he gives it to her.

Meanwhile, Sakura was outside Tsunade's office, ready to knock on the door when the knob moved.

"Sakura..." Tsunade greeted. "Come inside. We have a lot to talk about."

Sakura stepped inside her office with fear and that nervous feeling. Her stomach flipped over and it felt like she was going to faint on the spot. She didn't eat breakfast, she didn't get her usual amount of sleep.

"I'm sure you're not feeling okay this morning. Take a seat." She closed the door behind her and walked towards her table and leaned against it. Sakura sat on the couch on one side of the room. So by now, Tsunade was facing the door with Sakura sitting on her far right, facing her.

"I..." Sakura couldn't find the words to say. She was too depressed. "I will never be okay..."

Tsunade sighed. "Sakura... You should know... 11:09 last night, Sasuke died." Her eyes immediately widened. She wasn't really expecting that the minute she had felt asleep was the minute Sasuke died. "I know the feeling... The feeling like you've been dumped on by problems by the whole world. The feeling that you can't go on through even one day?"

"Tsunade-sama... I already feel it.." She sobbed. "I don't need it in words..." Tears continiously fell down from her eyes, unable to wipe it on her own. She felt weak at that very moment. She couldn't even try and breathe. She wanted to stop and follow Sasuke.

"Sakura, you're a kunoichi. These things happen. You can never avoid the death of a loved one. Either way, this world we live in is fated cruelly unfair. It's only a matter of time before I follow on... And then Naruto... Then Kakashi.. And you..." She looked at the papers that were set on one side of her table. "We have to work even though one day, all those efforts will vanish... These papers mean nothing to me... But it's what life is. You have to go along with it."

"Not to be rude.. But did you just call on me to dump even more prob-"

"Don't worry. I have no intention of doing that. I know how hard it is to lose someone precious to you." She went behind the table and pulled the first drawer. "Sasuke.. Before we went down the day of the mission, he told me to give you this in case he doesn't come back."

****************

_FLASHBACK - HOKAGE'S MANSION_

_"I knew you were going to make the right choice, Uchiha." She stood up from her seat and walked towards the door. "Follow me."_

_"Wait..." Sasuke paused. He grabbed something out of his pockets. "Here."_

_"What's this? Health Insurance?" Tsuande grumped._

_"Look, could you be serious, grandma!" She listened to Orochimaru's former apprentice. "I want you to give it Sakura after the day I die."_

_"So you won't be telling her as long as you live, huh?" She took the letter and kept it in her hands._

_"Does it look like I'm going to. I don't want people worrying about me. I'm a shinobi, these things happen. They should get used to it." He continued walking and went past the Fifth._

_"Sasuke, I was always expecting you to be the brave kind when it comes to love. But your braveness in the battlefield is equal to your fear in love. What are you worried so about?"_

_"I just don't want people worrying... Besides... I'm sure Sakura would give up working just to take care of me. I wouldn't want her to do that." Sasuke looked back at Godaime. "I already agreed to go on this mission, and yet you still want me to confess in person? Isn't this hard enough?"_

_"Very well. Let's go."_

_He followed the Sannin until they had reached the ground floor of the building. There, Anko was scarfing down a plate of dumplings while Sai was busy reading his life guide books. Tsunade had explained the mission to the three shinobis and they were ready to head out. They all headed for the main gate of the village._

_"You know what to do, guys." Tsunade announced. "Sasuke, are you sure? Is that your final decision?"_

_"I thought I made the right choice? Make up your mind, bitch!"_

_"Just because you're about to die, you can live your life by calling me names, Uchiha."_

_"I'll haunt you when I get a hold of death."_

_Sai and Anko watched as each of them answered the other wisely. It was like each come back was better than the ones before them, but the next ones seemed to be greater. It was like a sitcom to Anko and to Sai... It was like he had observed them like lab rats; noting their actions and reactions. He still wasn't very good with people. The sun was halfway up when Tsunade and Sasuke stopped._

_"Sasuke..." Tsunade softly called out._

_"What?"_

_"We're going to miss you." She waved as Sasuke, Anko and Sai ran through the forests._

_As soon as Sasuke and the others were out of sight, she immediately returned to the office to finish up the remaining paperwork Shizune left for her. To her amazement, she was vacant for the afternoon! No folders nor papers on her table. She decided to lock her room and think about what Sasuke had said. She looked at the envelope within her hands and placed it on the first drawer of her table._

_"Tsk. What a coward..." She told herself, trying to stay positive._

_'Never come back, Sasuke... It's for your own good... It's also for Sakura...' she thought to herself._

_END OF FLASHBACK !!!_

****************

She pulled out a small envelope out of the drawer and shut the drawer close. She walked towards Sakura and handed her the envelope.

"What's this?"

"Find out for your own. Do you want me to leave?" She asked softly.

"No... I think I should open this at home..." She sighen and set the letter aside. She rubbed her aching stomach. As you can recall, she didn't eat breakfast.

"Well, SAkura. You're strong, put that in mind. You shouldn't let anything bring you down... Not love, not friends and not death. You should be more positive about things." She sat beside the Haruno girl. "I don't want you to do what I did back when I was young. I don't want you to freeze out there just because something reminds you of Sasuke."

"You know, Tsunade-sama... It's no use telling me that. It's too late for me anyways. I've made up my mind. I'm giving up this life!"

"Are you sure that's going to make you happy? Or are you doing this so you can have a lot more time to mope around? To cry like a child who'd been lost?" Tsunade stood up. "Make up your mind after you read that letter."

"But-"

"Dismissed."

Sakura couldn't object any longer. She knew it'd be hopeless. She wouldn't listen to her opinion unless she knew Sakura was finished reading. Sakura slowly stepped out of the Hokage's office and headed to the Chocolate Emporium. She sat at the table where she and Sasuke sat before. She flashed back to the day when Sasuke had tasted the chocolate she had given to him. The owner of the Chocolate Emporium approached her.

"Sakura-kun! How's Sasuke-kun?"

She didn't answer. It was obvious he didn't get the news. She was about to open the letter but then she fell apart just by hearing Sasuke's name.

"He's..." She wanted to say he fine... But he wasn't even there anymore. "..gone for good." She pulled herself together and opened the letter.

"Ohh... So the rumors were true..." He looked away, trying not to look at the girl who was falling apart in front of him. "Uhmm... Would you like anything to drink?"

"I think a decent coffee would do." She tried faking a smile for the old man.

"Don't force yourself... Naruto's in the kitchen, helping out. Should I call on him?" He asked.

"Sure. That'd be fine. Thank you, sir." She paused and set the letter aside. She thought it'd be better if she ate something first before she faints.

"No problem."

A few minutes later, a familiar presence approached her along with the aroma of coffee. She turned her head and looked at the blonde kid standing beside her holding a cup of coffee. He was smiling down at her while her eyes were filled with tears. But seeing that smile... As if nothing had happened last night... Everything good in life was on Naruto's smile. It was like Sakura's problems had all been shattered away when she saw Naruto smiling at her.

"Hey, Sakura-chan. Are you feeling okay?" Naruto placed the coffee on the table and sat in front of her.

"I am never going to be-..." Naruto cut her off.

"You're going to be okay, Sakura. I'm sure. As soon as you read that letter, everything will just go away. Trsut me on that." He grabbed the letter Sakura set aside earlier and handed it to her.

"How did you know?" She accepted the letter and unfolded the small piece of paper.

_Dear Sakura,_

_I guess I'm gone by now, huh? Hahaha! I didn't know I could still laugh in this condition. I wanted this to be given to you after my death because I know you'd be having a hard time getting over it. You know, this is also a good thing. Me not being there by your side... Because with my condition, your time will only be wasted. The longer we're together, the more memories we make... And once I'm gone, the harder it is go let go because of those memories. This is much better... And besides, I'm sure you don't even deserve me. You need someone better. Someone you know who will be by your side when things are upside down._

_Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry about me! I'm going to be fine. Don't let yourself go just because I'm gone, okay? I love you and I always will... It's_

_P.S. : On the funeral... I don't want anything from you but the necklace I gave you... That's just another hindrance on your mission. Your mission? Forgetting me. And don't wear black. I want you to stand out from the crowd when I peek. Don't worry, I'm sure everyone will help out in helping you out!_

_With love, Uchiha Sasuke.... Merry Christmas!!! :)_

"Funeral?" She looked at Naruto.

"It's tomorrow. I'm sorry Sa-"

"No..." She said softly. "I'm sorry..." She wiped her tears. "I don't know how I'm going to get over Sasuke. I think it would take forever... And I'm certain you'll be having a hard time..." But wiping didn't help since this just triggered her eyes to water even more. "And I'm even sorrier for being so stubborn about loving Sasuke... Now that he's gone... I have nobody... Everything is..." She decided to use Sasuke's term in the letter. "upside down..." She held her cup of coffee. She sipped little by little until her cup was empty.

'At least she drank something to energize her up...' He thought to himself.

"Upside down, huh?" Naruto smiled. "That's how I felt last night. It hurt... Hurt so bad not even words can describe it...." He suddenly hugged Sakura. "And if ever you feel worse than upside down, I will be here for you." He tightened his hold on the kunoichi.

Right now, all that mattered to Sakura was the fact that Naruto never left him. He always forced out a smile even though it was also hard for him. He never left her. No matter how big his problem was, he always put Sakura first and before him. And Sakura couldn't believe he could do that. Sakura hugged back at the blonde. And Naruto, he didn't care if she hugged back or not. All he knows is that he could never leave Sakura.

"Sakura... Don't hug if you don't want to... But just to let you know, I don't want to let go."

"So do I..." She tightened her grip on Naruto. It started snowing... White flakes fell from the sky and onto the streets of Konoha. "Naruto..." She parted from Naruto. "I think I should go... I still have something to do..."

"Sure. Do you want me to join you?"

"I'm sure there are things you still need to take care of Naruto..." She let out a smile. This time, it was real. And Naruto was so sure it was. "And besides, I'm not that crybaby little girl back then. I can take care of myself." She started walking away but something was missing. She turned around to look at the blonde shinobi and let out another smile. Her emerald eyes looking right into his deep blue ones. "Thank you, Naruto... For everything."

"Don't worry about it." He scratched the back of his head and smiled back at her.

She continued walking towards the Hokage's Mansion. 'Oh God... Please let this be the right choice...' she thought to herself. She finally made up her mind. She knew what she was going to choose, whether it was the right choice or not.

She arrives at the hallway outside the Hokage's Office and sees Shizune along the hallway.

"Sakura-san. Good morning!"

"Good morning, Shizune-san... Is Tsunade-sama in her office?"

"Yes, in fact she's getting her morning paperworks done. There's a lot more in the basement... Which makes up her Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday paperworks." She giggled. "I've got everything arranged for her. That should teach her to slack off of her work." She stopped giggling. The smile on her face faded a few seconds later. She looked at the pink haired ninja who stood serious before her. "How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly..." She thought of the words carefully. "I think I'm going to be okay... Well, with Naruto around, I'm definitely going to be okay."

"That's good news! Are you aware of the funeral tomorrow?"

"Yes... Speaking of which, how's Anko and Sai?" She almost forgot about them. She almost forgot about the mission last night.

"They're fine. Anko's taking surgery this afternoon and Sai's going to have heart transplant..."

"WHAT??!" Her eyes widened.

"Just kidding. Both of them are in the hospital right now. They should be out in a day or two. The injuries they got were not so good but nothing Konoha's medics can't fix, right?"

"Yeah. Hey, I'll see you later. I still have to talk to Tsunade-sama." She continued walking before Shizune could even talk.

She rushed into Tsunade's office and immediately yelled, "I am not giving up my status!"

Tsunade was sitting on her chair... Snoozing on top of her paperwork. 'Dear God, hasn't she changed??!' she thought. Tsunade startled when she had heard Sakura yell.

"Wha-... Fire-?? True!? False? 38492!!!" Sakura almost fell flat on her back when Tsunade yelled back.

"What's with the last thing with the numbers?" She asked in confusion.

"I thought I was in a lottery lobby... You were saying?"

"I'm... I'm not giving up my status..." She said but with a softer voice.

"Really?"

"I thought about it... I mean... If I give up my status just because I'm depressed about that happy ending that never came around... Then... It'd still be useless. I gave up my dream, my friends for something that isn't even here." She complied. "I'd rather work to death than grieve over something that's long gone."

"Well, Sakura... This I have to tell you." Tsunade could hear Sakura gulp in fear. "You definitely made the right choice." She approached Sakura and gave her a big hug. "I'm glad you didn't choose the path I chose when this happened to me." She let go of Sakura but still held on her shoulder. "You really are smart... And you're growing by the minute. I'm proud."

"You know.. The funny thing is... When I see Sasuke smile, it reminds me of how grumpy he was when we were young. It's like it wasn't really Sasuke behind that smile. But... When I saw Naruto smiling earlier, it was as if nothing even happened, everything vanished away. All his problems.. Along with mine."

"I don't think I should be the one you're talking to about that. Not Ino, not Kakashi... But I think you should talk about that with Naruto himself. It'll be easier than guessing out what he's thinking while we talk here. Tomorrow after the funeral, I want you to talk."

She went straight back home after that, not accepting any visitors. She even sent Ino away when she knocked on her door. She ate a small meal for lunch and two pieces of bread for dinner. She still wasn't feeling fine even though she knew she was going to be okay. She was going to be alright but not now... She still needs time. She removed her necklace and placed it inside a small box.

It was nighttime by the time she finished preparing for the funeral. She lay on the bed with the box of the necklace on her side table. The moon was high but she still couldn't get any sleep. She stared at the box and noticed the picture behind it... The picture taken when they were still Genin. She rose from her bed and sat on the side. She was sad, lonely that night. She couldn't believe how fast things have happened. She grabbed the picture and looked at Sasuke looking Naruto with an annoyed face.

"Sasuke-kun..." She put down the picture and grabbed the box. Laying on the bed once more, she took the box of the necklace and took one last look at it. 'S... Sorrow? Sadness? So long? Sacrifice?' she thought to herself. All these went in her brain... Like last night, she cried herself to sleep... Only this time, holding onto Sasuke's gift...

The next day, every shinobi was on their way to the cemetery. It was a cold Christmas for all shinobis, female and male. Everyone brought flowers of the same kind... Bouqets of cherry blossoms were within everyone's hands. Everyone's except Sakura's... As Sasuke has told him, she brought nothing but the necklace and she wore her usual Genin attire although she was a Chuunin Medic now.

"Sakura..." Naruto made his way through the crowd to get to her. He stood beside her while he coffin was being placed on top of the hole. "Sakura... Are you going to be okay?"

She signed heavily. "Yeah... I am." She smiled at him.

After putting the coffin in place, Sakura was the very first person to give a gift. The necklace in her hands seemed to be stuck since she couldn't let go of it... 'How will I get over you, Sasuke? It seems impossible to let go of everything...' She thought to herself. She didn't want to let go but she had to. It was for Sasuke and for herself. She put the box on top of the coffin and went along.

Next came Naruto who gave a single flower of cherry blossom. He knew it wouldn't be that hard to help Sakura move on but he knew he was going to have a hard time. For his best friend and the only girl in his heart, he would survive. He knew he would. 'So long, brother... You've been a great friend.'

And then came Kakashi with a bouqet of cherry blossoms. Well, there was nothing much for him... Except he had lost another Uchiha that was close to his heart. 'You're a brave shinobi just like Itachi and Obito... You've been a fast learner and an excellent student. I'm proud of you.'

Tsunade came after... 'Sasuke, you bitch. If you haunt me... I swear I'll follow you in the afterlife and kill you... But seriously... You've been a great shinobi. You served Konoha and in return, you die in honor. You became strong...'

And everyone else in the village followed after. Sakura and Naruto couldn't bear seeing him get buried so they stayed at the swing near the Academy. Sakura was sitting on the swing still and Naruto leaned against the tree beside it.

"Sakura-"  
"Naruto"

(At the same time...)

"You first, Naruto said..." He crossed his arms.

"Naruto... I want you to help me out... Right now... I can't bear to say goodbye to him. He's been a jerk in the range of love, he's a traitor in the shinobi society. But he's been a great person..." her eyes were filled with tears.

"Listen, I told you, I'll be helping you, okay? We'll both get through this. I know you think it's easy for me because I can still smile... But losing Sasuke is like losing a brother. We'll get through this. All we have to do is struggle, okay?"

"Okay..."

Naruto pulled out something from his pocket and handed it to Sakura. It was inside a small box.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Christmas present. Merry Christmas, Sakura-chan."

She opened the box and found a ceramic model of a cherry blossom flower. The stem was shaped like the end of a key.

"A cherry blossom... Naruto, you can't get any cheesier than this." She giggled.

"Actually I can." He stood up. "Sakura-chan... I will love you until that flower dies."

"Really?" He nodded. She stood up and went in front of Naruto. "Merry Christmas..." She held his whiskered cheeks and gave him a soft kiss on his lips. After pulling away, she gave him a big hug and continued her sentence. "...Naruto-kun."

Naruto almost burst out in tears after hearing the suffix Sakura had added to his name. He never thought Sakura could say that. He would usually hear it from Hinata but this... This was something else. He treasured this Christmas the most.

An hour after the funeral, Sakura could finally smile on her own... As long as no one said anything about Sasuke, she was fine. Ino and the others didn't hold on too long on Sasuke's death but then again, it was still sad.

Naruto and Sakura were with Kakashi in the Chocolate Emporium, eating their dessert after lunch.

"You know, I still can't believe Sasuke-kun didn't like sweets... But when we ate here, i think he liked it." She stated. Both of the shinobis with her were shocked. She said Sasuke's name without bursting in tears.

"Sakura-chan... You-"

"What? You think I'd still hold on... I've figured out that I can't hold on to something that isn't even here. You have to move on with life. You have to catch up on how life runs even though you know you have a lot on your shoulder. It's better to live in the moment and laugh it off than crying in one corner, hoping time would just fly by." She gave out a smile.

"I'm surprised, Sakura..." Kakashi put down his perverted book. "You're really different from the pink haired Genin I met a few years back. You know, she used to cry when Sasuke was in deep trouble.. And when Sasuke left, she cried for days... But Sasuke's departure did some good for her." He looked at the girl sitting across him. "She learned to speak up and ask Princess Tsunade to teach her the ways of the medic. And there, she learned to bring out her true strength."

"Really?" She tapped her chin. "Naruto, what do you think that pink haired Genin will be when she grows up?"

"I think she's going to be a very cute, strong and smart kunoichi someday."

Okay, even Sakura had to admit this was getting cheesy than she had imagined. Although, it was very sweet of him to say something like that. However, she wondered... She was a crybaby back then, she was weak and a coward... How would Naruto have a crush on her? Her family was ordinary unlike the Hyuuga's. Hinata had definitely developed into a woman physically than her. They were different...

"Guys, I still have to report back to Tsunade-sama." Kakashi stood up from his seat. "I have to tell her that we still have to plant the trees about North of the village."

Kakashi left, leaving Naruto and Sakura planted on their seats. Sakura finished off her food and waited for Naruto to finish his. After eating, they both went to the 3rd Training ground. It was still the same as they remembered it. Three logs in place with a timer on top. The gigantic kunai planted on the ground. They both walked towards it and read the names.

"Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Sasuke..." Sakura read out loud and pointed the area that she was reading. "His name's already here."

"You know, I'm getting the impression that they wanted to get rid of Sasuke."

"Nah. It's just that this is life. We have to keep moving on no matter how hard it is." She held Naruto's hand and tightened her grip. "And that never excludes anyone... Including me."

Naruto pulled her into a warming hug. After letting go, something in Sakura's mind suddenly popped and she just had to ask.

"By the way, the key you gave me with the cherry blossom... What's that for?"

"You'll find out... But not now, not tomorrow but someday... When the right time comes."

"And when's that?"

"You'll have to wait." He kissed Sakura's forehead.

Soon enough, sunset finally came and they ate dinner together.

* * *

That's pretty much what had happened on their Christmas Day. Well, what's the key that Naruto gave her for? Well, not only does Sakura have to wait but so do you! Tune in for the next chapter, An After Year Message.

**Randomly talking:** I'm sorry it took so long to update! I've had a hard time squeezing in my fanfic time I actually had to bring my laptop to school. Thanks for all those who tuned in! I'm going to work on His Last Request 5 next! And then the next chapter of this story! Thank you so much.

How to tell if you friend has armpit odor? Of course, all you have to do is ask... _"Hey, was the deodorant you used this morning expired?"_ :)) Hahaha ! I got that from my classmate ! Regards to you, Patricia!

Thank you! Tune in next time!


	5. An After Year Message

How Will I Get Over You?

I'm so happy i finally found the chance to upload this story! You don't know how rough the past months have been! Anyway, R&R, please put me in you faves! Enjoy the last chapter of HOW WILL I GET OVER YOU?

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Chapter 5 - An After Year Message

It's already been a year since Sasuke had died. Another December for the happy couple, Sakura and Naruto. It's been Sakura's routine to stop by Naruto's house everytime she gets out of work. They both watch movies and have good times. Like Naruto promised, he has been keeping Sakura for the past year. Sakura has also been wearing the cherry blossom key necklace everyday for the past year. Sadly, on the best time of the year, Sakura and Naruto would have to visit the cemetery to visit Sasuke.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Naruto asked as he combed his hair.

"Yes, I am fine. It's just a little headache. Don't worry about it. And I wouldn't miss Sasuke's death anniversary for the world." She put on her jacket and sat on the messy couch in Naruto's living room. "And don't forget, we also have to get Kakashi-sensei." She looked at the clock hanging above the TV set.

"Don't get so worked up, Sakura-chan. It's Christmas." He fixed his jumpsuit and sat beside Sakura on the couch. It's been a year and he still couldn't believe it. The girl he loved was really right in front of him, as his girlfriend! "Sakura-chan..." He looked at her emerald eyes as she looked at his sapphire ones.

"Naruto-sempai!" A familiar voice called out followed by a series of knocks. "Are you home?"

"The door's opened." He yelled back as he poised himself, ready for their visitor. The knob turned and the door opened. There, standing in his usual attire, Choji held the door knob with one hand and held a bag of BBQ flavored chips on the other. "The cemetery's cleaned up. You can go."

"Thank you, Choji." Sakura quickly stood up and put on her sandals. "Don't worry, we'll visit Asuma-sensei while we're there." She gave Choji a smile before he left. Naruto stood up and grabbed his orange coat. Heading for the door, he put on the clothing made of cloth.

"Naruto," Sakura removed her forehead protector and placed it on one of Naruto's chairs. She followed Naruto and took a step outside. "If we don't get Kakashi-sensei, he'll be late..." She turned around to close the door while rolling her eyes. "_Again_!" She emphasized. She fixed her jacket one last time just to make sure it wouldn't open up while they were walking.

Naruto didn't argue anymore. She was right. If he wasn't going to be picked up, he might as well not show up. But they were also sure that somehow, Kakashi would want to go to another memorable place too. Like, let's say, the memorial site where Obito's name is carved? They both rushed to Kakashi's residence and rang the doorbell. It took a while for him to open the door, though.

"Ohayo, Naruto, Sakura." Naruto noticed he was wearing a normal loose shirt and cotton shorts.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me you just woke up!" He crossed his arms.

"No!" Kakashi denied. "I just had breakfast!" He scratched the back of his head. "Are we going yet?"

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura smiled sweetly but in a sarcastic way. "What time did we agree on?"

"7:30, as usual."

"What time is it on your wall clock?" Kakashi turned around to look and then he opened the door.

"You guys better get in, it's freezing out there." He creased his eye. Naruto and Sakura figured he was only trying to avoid the subject. Although, they both stepped into his residence. "It's 7:00 on my wall clock."

"And..." Sakura sat down on one of the couches and turned on the TV with the remote. She looked at her watch to check the time. "_How long_ has it been 7:00 on that wall clock?"

"Alright, fine!" Kakashi went back in his room. "I forgot to buy new batteries, okay?" He yelled.

"You're getting forgetful. Is it because of Anko?" Naruto smirked at him.

"No." He entered his bathroom. "I'm just getting really old." He admitted it-it had to happen some time.

Naruto and Sakura waited ofr about 5 or 6 minutes before Kakashi was done taking a bath. He came out in his usual blue suit but without the flack jacket. He went back in his room and fixed himself up. Naruto and Sakura continued waiting but were growing impatient. Even though they got used to it, it was no excuse for him to ALWAYS be late. And may I emphasize the ALWAYS. No sooner, Kakashi got out of his room in his complete outfit, including his sandals and flack jacket.

"Kakashi, we're visiting Sasuke, Asuma and the memorial site, not going on a mission." Sakura stood up and crossed her arms. "At least try to be a little casual." Of course, Sakura was right. It was Christmas and Kakashi looked like he was going to some meeting and like he was busy.

"I'm already dressed, guys. You still want to wait a few more minutes? We're already behind schedule."

He had a point. They were already late and if they wanted him to change, they had to wait longer. So not wasting anymore time, they rushed to the flower shop to buy some flowers and headed to the cemetery. All three put flowers Sandaime's, Asuma's and Sasuke's graves. Sakura remained standing in front of Sasuke's tomb stone.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto approached her after laying his flowers on Asuma's tomb. "Let's go to the memorial so we can have lunch."

"You guys go ahead." She turned around and gave Naruto a weak smile. "I'll catch up soon." She thought she was going to be okay when Naruto asked her earlier, but somehow, she wasn't expecting this. Naruto gave her a hug and went to the exit where Kakashi was waiting.

Being someone who was very serious about life, Sasuke was expected to be living longer than her. In fact, Ino also told her that she was most likely to die first in their batch. Of course, the only thing Sakura was natural at was being smart. Her fists and medic skills came from Tsunade. She knew in one way, Ino was right. She admitted it, being the weakest in their team.

She remembered what happened a year ago when she put the 'S' necklace on Sasuke's coffin back at his funeral. Maybe some of you are wondering how that necklace got to Sakura. Well, it's a good thing she flashed back to when that happened.

* * *

_"Sakura are you home?" Sakura just finished a very small meal the night she got home from the rain when Naruto knocked. Eyes still filled with tears, Sakura wiped them up and opened the door. "You still awake?"_

_"Naruto... What are you doing here?" She sniffed. "It's... I think it's the middle of the night." Naruto didn't say a word but pulled something out of his pockets and handed it to Sakura. Wondering what it was doing with him, Sakura gently took it from the Kyuubi boy's hands. She looked a good look at it and looked back at the blonde in front of her. "What happened?"_

_"Sasuke's still being treated." He gave Sakura a weak smile. "The nurse said the necklace kind of got in the way in treating him so they took it off."_

_"Oh..." She closed her fist and encaged the necklace within her hands. She realeased a heavy sigh and bowed her head down. "I guess I better go to bed......_

_"Yeah, you still need to go to Tsunade's in the morning..." He disappeared in a blink of an eye before Sakura could even thank him. She closed the door gently and leaned her back against it. She couldn't keep her precious tears from falling. She never thought the necklace would somehow come back to her. Why did fate always seperate them? How could this happen to them?_

_

* * *

  
_

The cherry blossom trees planted around the area were covered in snow and petals would fall every now and then. She still couldn't believe it. It's been one year but in some way, she still misses the Uchiha Survivor. But she had to get him out of her mind now. It was Christmas and she was with Naruto already. They were officially an item. It's time she OFFICIALLY let go. This time, she was serious about it.

She knelt down in front of Sasuke's tomb and put her hands on her lap.

_'Sasuke, how are you?_' She thought. Her lips formed a small smile._ 'I hope you're happy wherever you are. I miss you. We all miss you. And I wish this Christmas, just now, even in this moment, you would be by my side.'_ She sighed. As she opened her eyes, she sensed a familiar presence. There, in front of her, was a faded image of Sasuke leaning on his own tomb stone with his elbows as support on the top of the tomb stone.

"Sasuke-kun...." She said to herself.

"Sakura." He smiled. He stood up and walked towards her until they were facing each other. The raven-haired boy took one of her hands into both of his. "I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye properly back then."

"You're in front of me right now, aren't you?" Sakura looked at their intertwined hands. She just couldn't help but miss the real thing.

"I just wish I was with you for real." He tightened his grip. He pulled in Sakura for a hug. "The last time I hugged you, I was still alive... And I was crying."

"Why were you crying?"

"Because I didn't know what to do... Whether I had to stay with you or save you." He let go of her and cupped her cheeks. "But now I'm just happy that I made the right choice. I just know I did." His black orbs looked right into her jaded eyes which were already filled with tears. "But you're right. I'm right here, right in front of you, right now... Maybe I can finally say that goodbye I've been wanting to say for the past year." He kissed her on the forehead and smiled at her. "Goodbye......." His voice echoed through the area.

Her eyes snapped the minute she realized she was just dreaming. _'Sasuke... kun.'_ She thought to herself. Frustrated, she got up and remembered that Naruto and Kakashi were on their way to the memorial site. Maybe if she ran, she'd catch up with the guys. She headed towards the exit and dashed towards the direction of the memorial site.

Back in the cemetery, a faded image of Sasuke sat on the branch of the cherry blossom tree nearest to the exit, looking at her as she dashed off. One thigh was held against his chest and his other leg dangled below. His silhouette turned into a bunch of cherry blossom petals and gradually got blown away by the wind.

Soon, Sakura spotted Naruto and Kakashi already in the memorial site. Naruto sat under a tree while Kakashi stood in front of the giant kunai stuck on the ground with his hands in his pockets.

"Merry Christmas, Obito." Kakashi said as he creased his eye.

"Are you done yet?" Naruto stood up. "I'm getting kind of hungry."

"Naruto..." Sakura approached from behind. "Let Kakashi-sensei take his time. I took long while at the cemetery."

"Well, it's because it's only been a year with Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei is like moping here... Since childhood."

"Forgive me for being sentimental, Naruto." He pulled something out of one of the pockets of his flack jacket. "Which reminds me: Here are your gifts before I forget." He tossed each one to Naruto and Sakura.

"Why give them now?" Sakura asked. "We still have lunch at Ichiraku's." She looked at her watch. "In about 20 minutes."

"I think I'm gonna stay here for a while... I also have other things to do this afternoon." He turned around to look at the couple behind him. "You guys enjoy your Christmas." He waved at them.

"If you say so." Naruto said. "Come on." He turned to Sakura. "I've been saving up since October. I have enough money for a trip around town."

"Okay!" Sakura cheerfully replied. Both of them made their way out of the forest. On the way, they passed by Anko heading to the memorial site. "I think I know why Kakashi decided to stay." She smirked at Naruto. "Anko's heading there."

"Who would have thought they had a date today?"

No sooner, Sakura and Naruto reached Ichiraku's and took a booth. As usual, Naruto ordered his ramen and Sakura just ordered the same. When their order came, they started eating. Sakura ate like a proper lady should and Naruto... Naruto was much worse than a tornado destroying everything in its path.

"Naruto, why don't you just stop for like 3 seconds and breathe?" A familiar voice came from behind. "I wouldn't want you dying here at your favorite place." Sakura and Naruto took their eyes off of their food and looked up. Noticing his hair was loose and he wasn't wearing any ponytail, Sakura's eyes widened. This was an unusual sight for everyone in Konoha. He was even worn out. Sakura guessed he just got out of training.

"Neji-san," Sakura put down her chopsticks. "What happened to your hair?"

"Lee happened to my hair." He rubbed his temple with his index finger while a sigh escaped his lips. "Lee and Gai got a little carried away in training."

"At least you were training."

"Nahh. I wasn't even part of it." Naruto almost choked on his ramen. What? He wasn't part of the training and yet, he was in that condition. "I was only taking a break with Tenten when both of them went all wild."

"Well it's good thing you weren't a part of it, _or else-_" Sakura couldn't finish up her sentence. A bob-cut boy came out of nowhere and stood beside Neji.

"I'm sorry about the mess, Neji-san." Lee said gleefully. Sakura looked at him from top to bottom... And not one scratch was found. "Sakura-chan, Naruto-san, Merry Christmas. I see you'll be celebrating here."

"Merry Christmas, Lee-san." Sakura stated. "I thought you were training?"

"I was. I went straight from training to look for Neji." Lee put one arm around Neji's neck. Naruto turned to look at the both of them while several strands of noodles hung onto his closed mouth.

"You were training in that condition?" Naruto's eyes completely widened. "You aren't even scratched one bit! Not a speck of dirt on your clothes."

Lee shook his head. "Not true. My sandals are already worn out from this one training." Maybe it's because he specializes in speed and he has to use his feet more often for the training, Naruto thought. "We better leave. See ya!"

"But-" Neji protested. He couldn't finish up since Lee pulled him away already.

Naruto and Sakura were almost done with their meal when another group of their friends showed up. Konohamaru and his friends arrived.

"Naruto-nii-san!" Konohamaru called out. "Prepare yourself! For I have developed my latest perverted jutsu!" He formed a few seals quickly. "Tajuu, Hare-"

Sakura tosses one of her chopsticks to Konohamaru and hits him on the forehead. His body was thrown down to the ground as his back hit the floor.

"Moegi-chan..." He called out in a shaking voice while he reached out his hand. "Help me, Moegi-chan!"

However, instead of helping, Moegi stomped onto his stomach wildly to keep him pinned on the ground.

"Shut up, Konohamaru-kun!" She dug her foot on his stomach even further. "Stay put and don't move!" She crossed her arms.

Ebisu came in the shop running and panting. He rushed towards the three children who were bothering the couple.

"Gomenasai, Naruto, Sakura-san." He put his arm around the two students who remained standing up. He looked down to the floor and wondered why Konohamaru was slammed onto it. "Konohamaru-san, what are you doing lying on the floor?"

Konohamaru propped himself up with one elbow and rubbed the back of his head . "Owwwie." The little Genin stood up.

"Konohamaru-san, let's go. We're supposed to be at Tsunade's office in a few minutes." He pulled Konohamaru away from the couple and the other two teammates of the loudmouth Genin followed.

After Naruto finished his meal, both of them took a stroll around town. However, after sometime, Sakura went bored.

"Naruto, is this all we're going to do all day?" She stopped walking and rubbed one arm with a hand. She didn't want to spend her Christmas walking around town with Naruto without saying a word. The silence kind of made her deaf. The silence was killing her to the core. "We're walking around town without any destination. I've gotta admit, this is boring..."

"Actually, Sakura, I've been waiting for you to get bored." Naruto sighed. He stopped walking. He turned around to face the kunoichi. "Would you like to get your Christmas present now?" He tilted his head on one side and raised an eyesbrow at the female shinobi.

"Naruto, you didn't have to get me a present..." She gave him a weak smile. She was too tired and too bored to smile at what he said, but down inside, she appreciated it.

"Come on!" Naruto pulled her by her wrists and ran back to his house. "Wait here." He said as he gestured her to sit on the couch in front of the television. He went inside his room to get something while Sakura stayed put for a while. She couldn't release the breath she was unconsciously holding while she waited for the blonde to come out of his room.

Meanwhile, Naruto rampaged inside his bedroom, unable to find the gift he was about to give the pink haired woman who was currently waiting in the living room.

**"Where the hell is it?!"** He whispered to himself while he flipped over his blanket that was previously lying on the bed and perfectly tucked in. "Where the fuck is the stupid present?!?!?!?!" He shouted as he ran to check his drawers. One by one, he pulled them out carelessly and threw the drawers to the side. His brain was only filled with panic. He couldn't think straight. That was a very important gift. **EXPENSIVE**, too. He had to give it to her. He promised he'd give it to her, but now, where was it?

In the living room, Sakura stayed quiet, however, curious. She wondered why the sounds from Naruto's room was like the sound she heard when Chouji beat up Kiba for calling him '_fat_' in the toilet back at Ichiraku's. It was like everything was about to break in there and she was beginning to worry whether he was doing well in there.

She took of her coat and threw it on the couch. Slowly walking towards the wooden door of the whiskered shinobi's room, she felt something beneath her feet and it was a good thing she didn't step on it. Her eyes drifted from the door to the thing beneath her as she bowed her head down. It looked very important. It was gift wrapped perfectly and there was even a small ribbon on top. She picked the small box up and checked the tiny card that was taped on one side.

_'To my dearest Cherry Blossom,_  
_Merry Christmas! I love you very much._  
_Love, Naruto'_

She giggled softly and continued her walk to Naruto's room. She turned the knob slowly and when she caught a glimpse of what was happening, she couldn't help but ask.

"Naruto, what are you doing?!!" She asked. Her hands were still glued on the knob and the other was hidden behind her, still holding onti the small box.

"I'm..." He smiled widely and scratched the back of his head. "I'm thinking about.. Redecorating my room. Yeah, it's so much easier this way so I-"

"You lost my present, didn't you?" She said casually as one of her eyebrows raised.

"Hyes.." He said in a sobbing tone. He lowered his head in humiliation. His stomach flipped, thinking that Sakura might get disappointed after getting her hopes up... Well, if he did get her hopes up.

She rolled her eyes and tossed him the present she found lying on the floor moments ago. Naruto had to think fast as he threw his hands forward to catch the present. Both of them directed themselves to the living room. Sakura, appreciating the hard work Naruto did on the wrapping [ if he WAS the one who worked on it ], genlty opened the gift when the blonde handed it back to her. She pulled out the staplers and straps of tapes instead of ripping it into shreds like an animal ready for its meal.

As soon as she was done, she had a precious crystalized figurine within her palms. It was shaped like the leaf on their forehead protectors with her name on the plaque.

"It's beautiful, Naruto." She said with a sweet smile. "Where'd you get the money? Rob a bank or something?" She chuckled.

"Sakura-chan! I'm offended that you doubt my thrift-skills. I have some self-control..." He stated. "Unlike Ino when there's a sale somewhere in Konoha."

"I know what you mean... She runs to a shop faster than Kakashi when he's new book is out."

Both of them laughed hysterically, imagining the humorous thought they had just talked about. Seconds later, they both finally stopped. Silence dominated the air until Naruto's stomach made its usual sound- a growl.

"Uhh.. I'm hungry." He rubbed his stomach.

"That's a shocker." Sakura raised an eyebrow. "What do you have in your cupboard?" She cut him off before he say the obvious answer. "...besides **RAMEN!**"

"I have some Miso Soup in the fridge." _Miso Soup_? Since when did he like _Miso Soup_? Well, it's better than ramen.

"It'll do." She stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Naruto was just about to follow when Sakura peeked out of the doorway. "Stay there." She said with creased eyes. Naruto wasn't exactly the person who should be found working in the kitchen. He was more likely to be seen eating there, not working.

After some time, Sakura stepped out of the kitchen with a plastic tray in her hands. Two bowls were placed on top and the soup was still smoking when she had put the tray on top of the table in front of them.

"Itadakimasu!" They said in unison and started chowing on their newly cooked meals.

After some time, both of them finished and Sakura put the tray of empty bowls in the sink. She went back to the living and sat beside Naruto on his couch.

"So, Sakura-chan... What did you get me?" He asked.

"So staying home and eating home-made meal isn't enough?" She said furiously. Her eyebrows approached each other.

"Well, yeah... but.. I-I.." Naruto nervously stammered.

"Just kidding!" Sakura giggled. Naruto's reaction was golden! "Man, I wish I could have taken a picture of you face!" She laughed hysterically. "Of course I got you something." She took her coat from the couch's arm rest and checked the pockets. She took out the three small boxes from one of the pockets. "Oh yeah, I forgot about Kakashi-sensei's gift..." She handed two of the boxes to the blonde and held onto the other one.

Almost giddy with excitement, Naruto opened his cherry blossom's present first. He unwrapped the small box so fast, Sakura almost missed it.

"Hey!" She shouted in his ear. "I spent all night wrapping that and you're going to get rid of the wrappers mercilessly?!"

Almost losing a feeling, Naruto's right eye closed involuntarily, as if it was going to minimize the ringing he could now hear in his ears. He didn't argue with her any longer. Because he knew if he did, it would be a long time before they would reach the finish line. He just focused his attention on the present he had just unwrapped. He lifted the top part of the box. His eyes welcomed the sight of an orange and black colored anklet, obviously hand made.

"You got me an anklet?" He raised an eyebrow to emphasize the last word.

"At least appreciate it, Naruto." She commanded him. "I took art classes to make you present and all you can do is look like THAT?" She pin-pointed at the expression on his face.

"No offense, Sakura-chan..." He took another gander at the anklet. "You took art classes just to make something..... this small?" He chuckled.

"You know, when you say 'no offense', it doesn't take a bit of offense off of the statement."

"Come on, you know I'm just kidding you." He gave her a swift hug. "Thank you for the hard work." The whiskered man whispered huskily in her ear, sending what felt to be goosebumps on her arms. He couldn't see the expression on her face, but he was pretty sure she had rolled her eyes on his cheesy comment. When he finally let go, his mind came to another question: what did Kakashi get them? He looked at the carelessly gift wrapped present from Kakashi. "What do you think it is?" He shook the present beside his ear.

"Well then, all we have to do is open them to find out." She looked at the present she held in her hands. "I'll bet it's something cheap like.. Another coupon for barbeque at _Tsukiko's Grill._" Like she did with her previous gift, she unwrapped the present carefully. Her eyes widened at the sight before her. The box she held was like a small, rectangular and flat red drawer. It was about an inch thick. There was a rope glued to one of the long ends of the box. It seemed pretty expensive too... And that was just the container.

Her eyes shifted from the crimson box in her hands to Naruto's unwrapped present. It looked the same only, it was the same color as Naruto's jumpsuit-orange.

"Woah..." Sakura's lips unconsciously said. "This-"

"...looks pricey." Naruto continued.

They both looked at each other and nodded their head at the same time, signalling each other to open their presents. They both tugged at the string glued on the box and pulled out the drawer-like part of the box. They marvelled at the shiny piece of metal inside.

"A customized kunai?" Naruto asked. His jaw almost dropped.

"Wow... You'd need a lot of cash to have them done..." She said. She knew how much a customized kunai was worth and it was more than she would ever make in her entire life!

Her kunai's handle was bent in several curves. Instead of a circle with a hole in the middle, the base was a flat yet, well-sculpted cherry blossom. Even the filaments were seen on its surface. And, instead of ta diamond-shaped blade for the main part, it was shaped as a flat drop of water - part of the top of the kunai was slightly curved and the very tip was still sharp and the part where the handle met the blade was round and very sharp. She knew that she would have to be extra careful if she was to use this one. Despite her worries, she still thought it was made beautifully. She handled the kunai carefully and felt like something was carved on the side that was faced down. She rotated the kunai so she could see the other side. And there, in very small letters, '**Haruno S.**' was carved on the middle part of the curvy handle.

Naruto's kunai was different though. The base of his kunai was Konoha's sign. The small straight line on the top right of the sign served as the handle, meaning the triangular part was facing down. The main blade was shaped like a frog's footprint. It was 'W' in shape and there were thin but very sharp metal that filled the spaces. They were slightly curved so their size would be smaller than the thick 'W' shape. It was simpler than Sakura's but he sure did appreciate it.

Sakura wondered, '_If mine had my name on it, then I suppose..._'. She put the new weapon back in its box and slowly grabbed the Kyuubi boy's kunai. She turned it over and looked for his initials. She soon found it on the same part she found hers-on the handle.

"Hey!" Naruto chuckled. "If you don't like your kunai, don't take mine!" He grabbed it from her hands.

"No, Naruto! Look at the handle!" She pointed at the sharp weapon Naruto held away from her. As told, he looked at the handle and was somehow surprised to see his initials carved there.

"WOW!" He exclaimed. "How can someone carve such small letters on this thing?!" He brought the handle closer to his face to give the name a closer look. '**Uzumaki N.**' was carved.

The cherry haired woman was shocked when she saw it was already dark outside.

"Naruto, I really have to get home now. I still have a shift in the hospital tomorrow morning." She stood up and placed all of her presents in the pockets of her coat and put on the cotton material afterwards.

"Hold on, let me go to the bathroom and I'll walk you home." Before Sakura could even decline his offer, Naruto had already rushed into the comfort room for a completely unknown reason. All she could do now was put sit on the couch and wait for him to come out.

Her leg fidgetted-a sign of her impatience. What was taking him so long? It's been 15 minutes already and he still wasn't coming out of the bathroom. She rose from her position and made her way to the bathroom door. She knocked and called out, "Naruto? Are you alright in there?"

"Yeah, fine. Just give me a couple more minutes. I'm getting ready." He replied.

"_Ready_? Ready for what?!?" She asked loudly.

After that question, he didn't respond anymore. All that she could here through the door was a faucet running. She was about to open the door when the knob turned by itself. And there, Naruto stood right before her.

"Alright, let's go." He said, putting an arm around her and forced her to move forward. However, she didn't move an inch. He immediately closed the door behind him.

"Look, Naruto. I'm going home on my own. You get some rest too. You never know, you might be called in for a mission tomorrow."

Naruto's only response was his usual 'thank you and take care' smile. He leaned over, capturing the unsuspecting Sakura's lips with his. He kissed her as if tomorrow never existed, savoring her sweet taste for as long as he could. But he knew he had to pull away some time because his beloved cherry blossom really looked like she wanted to get some rest so he did.

"Good night, Naruto." She gave him one last peck on the cheek. "See you tomorrow."

"You too, Sakura-chan."

She made her way to front door and exited his room. She was halfway out of his apartment when she heard a familiar _'poof'_.

"Did you here a _'poof'_, Naruto?"

"Nope. Maybe you just really need some sleep." He shrugged.

On her way back home, in the middle of the dark and crowded street, she caught a glimpse of an odd couple taking a stroll and vice versa- Kakashi and Anko!

"Sakura-san!" Anko called out the minute she recognized Sakura's undeniably pink hair. "Hey, Sakura-san!" She ran to Sakura and gave her a welcoming hug. "What are you doing here alone?"

"I was at Naruto's but now, I'm on my way home." She said with a smile.

"Well, Naruto should be ashamed." The man in the mask said. "Naruto didn't walk you home?" He asked.

"No, I told him to get some rest in case he gets called in tomorrow." She giggled softly.

"Well then, Sakura-san..." Anko said. "We better get going or we'd miss the opening of the new bar, "**Restrict**"!" She turned to face Kakashi and pulled him by his wrist. "Goodnight, Sakura-san!"

"Goodnight, Anko-sempai, Kakashi-sensei!" She waved goodbye at the couple making their way through the busy streets.

It wasn't long until she was facing her front door. She crouched down low enough to reach the welcome mat that lay on the floor. She lifted the woven mat and took the key that she hid under it just in case she forgot her keys, like today! As soon as she got inside her apartment, she took of her coat, threw it on the floor and went straight to her bedroom. She opened her cabinet and looked for some good clothes for her to change into.

_'Where's my shirt?'_ She thought to herself. _'There it is...'_ She pulled out the extra large shirt on the top of the shelf and got a good pair of shorts. Once she finished picking out her clothes, she closed the cabinet and directed herself to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She took a shower, brushed her teeth and changed her clothes in less than half an hour and got out of the bathroom with her hair wrapped up in a towel. Her shorts were so short they were almost covered by the large shirt that clung on her body.

She was ready to get tucked in when she noticed a small box on her bed. How could she not notice that before? It wasn't wrapped though, it only had a bow on the right side of the surface of the cover. There was even a note stuck to it. She sat on the edge of the bed and took the note from the box.

_"Dear Sakura-chan,_  
_Here's Sasuke's present for you. He gave it to me a year ago and told me to give it to you on his first death anniversary which was also Christmas._  
_And I know you're wondering why there's a lock._  
_Well, only you yourself is the key needed to unlock this box._  
_Merry Christmas!_  
_Love, Uzumaki Naruto."_

She looked at the wooden box again._ 'Only I am the key needed to unlock this...' _What did her mean by that? And then it struck her- the cherry blossom key he had gived her last year! She rushed to the bathroom and took the necklace from the top of the small cabinet placed there. She only takes it off before she takes a bath. Rushing back to the edge of the bed, she took the box in her hands and used the key to open the lock. Worked like a charm! Inside the small box was a piece of folded paper.

She took the paper and unfolded it, hoping it wasn't one of Sasuke's sad letters again. Unfortunately, it was. She started reading it...

**_"Dear Sakura,_**  
**_Hey, you've made it through a year! I'm sorry this is all I have to give you this Christmas. Unfortunately, this is all I can do for the last minutes of my life. Anyway, I'm sure Naruto's doing a great job on keeping you happy. It's been a crazy time with you. Again, sorry if I had to leave you.. It's just that... I... You know, to tell you the truth, I really didn't want to write this letter. I'm afraid I won't be able to finish it. But then, I have to use every ounce of energy I have to write this. Remember, even though I'm not with you, I'll always be in your heart._**

**_Tell Kakashi-sensei to get over Obito and move on with his life! If he can't do that, then he's no better than the crybaby you were before. And I have this funny feeling about him and Anko... Anyway, just keep an eye on him! And on the woman too!_**

**_And if ever Naruto hurts you, just visit me and tell me what happened and I'll haunt him... Although, I don't think I will be doing that anytime in the future. It's Naruto for crying out loud. He's been in love with you ever since he met you! Anyway, I could never tell him this straight up but... He's been a good friend... Wait, wrong word. He's been a good BROTHER to me._**

**_Anyway, don't worry about me. I'm sure I'll be fine! And remember this: you're always going to be my little cherry blossom, no matter what._**

**_I love you, Sakura and that's all you need to know. Merry Christmas._**

**_Love, Uchiha Sasuke..."_**

Well, it certainly wasn't a tearjerking letter like last year's but Sakura still couldn't help but cry. Even though he was dying, her happiness was all he thought of. She smiled at the thought of the usually cold Uchiha's concern for his sensei's personal life. And the fact that Sasuke finally admitted that he felt some kind of bond between him and the Kyuubi boy only made things more enlightening. This was definitely a letter to keep. Her tears were running down her face as she put the piece of paper back into the box and held it in her arms. However, instead of sorrowful tears, they were tears of joy. This was definitely a Sasuke she had never expected...** EVER**.

She lay on the bed flat on her back, still hugging the wooden box and tears still making their way down her face. Before she knew it, she was asleep...

While our sweet little kunoichi was asleep, Naruto was sitting on his bed, facing the window in his room. It was dark and the only light there was was the light coming from the moon outside.

_'Sasuke, you bastard._' He thought. _'That letter's gonna make her cry again!' _He thought. He suddenly flashed back to when he delivered that present to her apartment just moments ago.

* * *

_"Hold on, let me go to the bathroom and I'll walk you home." Before Sakura could even decline his offer, Naruto had already rushed into the comfort room for a completely unknown reason. All she could do now was put sit on the couch and wait for him to come out. Little did she know, he wasn't going to be out for several minutes. Quickly making his hand seals, Naruto made a shadow clone to stay in the bathroom for him in case Sakura called. He went out through the window to deliver Sasuke's said present to her apartment without her noticing it._

_He made his way through the rooftops of several houses. Moments later, he reached Sakura's apartment. Knowing she keeps the keys under the mat, he used it to open her front door. He placed the gift on her bed and hurried back home where his beloved girlfriend was waiting._

_Meanwhile, Sakura's leg already fidgetted-a sign of her impatience. What was taking him so long? It's been 15 minutes already and he still wasn't coming out of the bathroom. She rose from her position and made her way to the bathroom door. She knocked and called out, "Naruto? Are you alright in there?"_

_"Yeah, fine. Just give me a couple more minutes. I'm getting ready." He replied. It was the best excuse he could think of._

_"Ready? Ready for what?!?" She asked loudly. The clone couldn't find words to speak out. All he could do was hope that the real Naruto would get back. And to his surprise, Naruto was already climbing back in through the window. Both blondes heard the door knob move and all Naruto could do was push the clone to land in the tub. There, the clone crouched, although it was obviously not going to help. The real Naruto washed his hands and wiped them before opening the door before his cherry blossom could._

_"Alright, let's go." He said, putting an arm around her and forced her to move forward. He didn't really want her to see what he was up to. However, she didn't move an inch. All he could do was immediately close the door behind him._

_"Look, Naruto. I'm going home on my own. You get some rest too. You never know, you might be called in for a mission tomorrow."_

_Naruto's only response was his usual 'thank you and take care' smile. He leaned over, capturing the unsuspecting Sakura's lips with his. He kissed her as if tomorrow never existed, savoring her sweet taste for as long as he could. But he knew he had to pull away some time because his beloved cherry blossom really looked like she wanted to get some rest so he did._

_"Good night, Naruto." She gave him one last peck on the cheek. "See you tomorrow."_

_"You too, Sakura-chan."_

_She made her way to front door and he made his way back into the bathroom and told his clone to disappear. He went out of the bathroom, back to his previous position, surprised to see Sakura was only halfway out the door. It was too late for him to tell his clone to pause because he was already set to go! And with that, the clone vanished with a loud 'poof'._

_"Did you here a 'poof', Naruto?"_

_"Nope." The blond denied. "Maybe you just really need some sleep." He shrugged._

* * *

He turned his attention to the picture frame on his side table-the one from when they were still Genins. _'I guess time does fly by fast. There were so much things I wanted to do with you, bro. I wanted to fight you again. I wanted us to go on missions together with Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei... But, I guess that's just a fantasy that life is never going to give us, huh?'_

Feeling his eyes were getting heavy, he laid back on the bed flat on his back and closed his eyes with one last final thought.

'_Well, I'm glad you used what was left of your life to write that letter for Sakura.'_ He thought. _'Merry Christmas, my friend.'_

In the bar, Kakashi was having a hard time enjoying himself. There was loud music and everyone was talking loudly but he still could hear his thoughts pouring our of his mind. _'Sasuke... Hmp. He used his last moment in the world to write that confession for her... Maybe he deserved to live after being a traitor...'_ He smirked under his dark mask. _'But then again, we **ARE** shinobi after all.'_

The next day, Sakura woke up and the first thing that popped on her mind was _'What time is it?!'_ She settled the box she hugged under her bed.

She struggled to get up and grab the clock placed on the side table of her bed. It was just 8:30. Her shift starts at 10:00 in the morning and she figured she had all the time she needed to get ready. So as usual, she took out her nurse uniform, took a bath and brushed her teeth and changed her clothes before coming out of the bathroom just like last night.

After everything was settled, she still had an hour before her shift. All she could do was let time pass by. And what better way to make it happen than to surf the channels on TV? Well, she was planning on doing that when someone rang the doorbell. She opened the door and to her surprise, Kakashi, Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji and Anko were on the other side!

"What are you all doing here?" She asked in confusion. Did she even invite them over in the first place?

"Forehead, weren't you watching the news? It's snow day! Everyone gets a day off today!" Ino cheered.

"So we're spending it at your place since everyone agreed that your place had the roomiest living room!" Chouji said as he chomped on his usual BBQ chips.

"I brought food!" Anko lifted the hand which was holding a woven basket.

"Alright, come in!" Sakura said gleefully.

Everyone made themselves comfortable... And since they had the day off, she figured she needed to change her clothes. After changing, she directed herself to the kitchen and prepared some drinks for her guests. Naruto helped her out in serving the food... And it was lunchtime when they all told each other stories.

"...but then Chouji here wanted to stay in the mansion and thought about saving the tray of barbeque before it was...." She shifted her gaze from her friends to the floor. "What's the word..?"

"Before it was 'overcooked'." Shikamaru continued.

"Hey, at least I'm not the one trying to get into Hiyaki's wife's room just to steal some of her make-up!" Chouji said proudly.

"You know, I wish everyday it would be like this..." Anko commented.

"What? All of you crashing at my apartment with no invitation?" Sakura chuckled.

"Yeah, that... And I also wish life would be this easy. Just telling stories, laughing it all off." Mitarashi giggled.

"Well, that's not what our life's all about." Kakashi responded. "We just have to get along with it."

Anko rolled her eyes at the masked man's negative response. She took her glass and raised it in the air. "Well then, here's a toast to the cute couple, Uzumaki and Haruno-san!"

Everybody else grabbed their glasses and raised it the way Anko did.

"A TOAST!" They all said simultaneously.

_'Anko's right... Maybe it would be better if life was just like this...' _Sakura thought, letting out a small giggle. _'But then again, it wasn't. I just have to cherish the people who are with me now and moments like these. It's all I can do! We'll just have to make the best of life and keep moving on!'_

**"CHA!"**

**--The End!**

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Guys! I am so relieved! i finally finished it! It took several months but i did it! i'm sorry i didn't update regulary... It was just... It was so hard.. The words don't just come to you, you know! You need something to inspire you to make these! :)) haha! hope you enjoyed this fanfic!

**How Will I Get Over You** --_ Officially Over! Thank You!_

**--niko7t4**


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